Crescent Moon
by Tellytubby101
Summary: Bella is a half-immortal with a secretive past that haunts her still. She has to keep an eye out for the dangerous burning flame on the horizon. The Cullens are still vampires, but they don't know what Bella is... Or what she's capable of. AU. A bit OOC.
1. First Day

**_Crescent Moon._**

**A/N: Hey, I'm _Tellytubby101_, and welcome to my first FanFiction story!**

**Because Ms. Meyer wasn't very detailed with vampire / human hybrids, I've decided to tweak them a bit. For instance, they smell human unless adrenaline is running through their bloodstream, then they smell like a vampire. For example: when they're scared or hunting or fighting.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. *Shrugs* - I'll survive.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

*******

**BPOV**

The cool glass against my forehead felt good. Feigning sleep, I shifted gently in the passenger seat of this decrepit vehicle. I prayed silently in my head, hoping I didn't accidentally dent the metal of the car door. It wouldn't be too good for Angela if I made a mark on her car.

_Angela._

She had to move to take care of her grandmother who was critically ill in hospital. Angela's parents were too busy, so she decided that she would care for her grandmother herself. And I came along to give her some company.

My best human friend, in who knows how long. She was my one and only reason for going to this depressing little backwater town of _Forks_. I even thought the words in distaste.

I sighed internally. I really shouldn't be getting so attached to any human. They were fragile. Temporary. But I really couldn't help it. Angela Weber was one of the nicest, purest people I've met in a century.

And I was darkening her soul with my inhuman presence. I truly loathed myself sometimes. Reasoning, I thought, _I'm only half-evil_. Half vampire. Half human. I chuckled darkly in my head.

"Are you awake sleepy-head?" Angela's voice broke through my thoughts. Whoops, I must have laughed out loud.

"Nah, I'm sleep talking," I mumbled sleepily.

She laughed at that and replied, "You should get some more sleep. We have a few more hours to drive before we get there. You sound like death."

I giggled in response to her comment. I am death. I kill wherever I go. Sure, they're animals I kill, but I feel guilty nonetheless. Not that I would ever consider killing a human instead of an animal. Humans didn't smell good to me for some reason. It's probably due to a birth defect. My sister…

I groaned. My sister. Annalie. Even thinking her name brought back all kinds of bad memories. It wasn't my fault. _It wasn't my fault_. I chanted silently over and over again in my head.

Shifting again, attempting to prop my body into a more comfortable position, I leaned against the headrest and closed my eyes. I begged my mind not to dream. I never dream anymore. I have nightmares of memories past.

My eyelids drooped, and I thought I heard Angela mumble something before I went under …

_~Flashback / Dream~_

"Annalie, come here!" I was yelling and giggling simultaneously.

"Got to come and catch me!" I heard her singsong voice tinkling over from my right. I had to go and get her.

"Ooh, Bella, are you going to catch me?" I heard her taunt. Now her voice was to my left. She was fast.

But I was faster.

I caught her around the middle, and sent us both tumbling down the hill. We were laughing hysterically, and I quickly began poking her in the ribs, yelling, "I got you, I got you!"

Annalie recovered quickly and pouted, "I hate being up for tag."

"Well, those are the breaks," responded a gruff voice from behind us.

We both turned our heads so quickly I swear I heard a crack. It was Corrin!

"Corrin, Corrin, Corrin! I thought you wouldn't be back from hunting until the day after tomorrow!" I ran and hugged him tightly with Annalie was close behind me, and the force made us all fall down.

"Bella, Annalie," he was chuckling as he gently removed us, "I know I'm your older brother, but you two combined make for one hell of a tackle!"

Annalie and I were talking and joking around with Corrin, until a shriek pierced the air. It sounded like mom …

Mom!

Suddenly the atmosphere was tense. As we bolted back towards the house, I heard the gruff sounds of my father arguing and the brief responses of another male voice. It was cool, calm and sounded beautiful. Another vampire.

I heard his yell and afterwards I saw a spiral of purple-black smoke float up into the clouds_. I wonder why we are having a campfire …_

Within an instant, I arrived at the scene. I was first out of the three because I was the fastest. It was in our front yard. I couldn't see my mom or dad, or even Sandra, Corrin's biological mother. All I saw was three piles of burning rubble from which the purple-black smoke drifted. The smell burned my nose.

Tearing my eyes away from the burning piles, and I noticed for the first times a rather large coven of vampires standing beside them. They resembled a warped army - uniforms and stiff positions, and a single vampire that looked like the leader.

A slight ruffling of air from either side of me registered the presence of my brother and sister. "What in the name of all that is holy is going on here?" Corrin was half yelling, and he directed his voice to the gathered crowd of vampires.

"Where are mommy and daddy?" I barely registered the voice as Annalie. She sounded terrified. The voice was so quiet, even my superior hearing had to strain to catch the sound.

The main vampire smiled and said in a lilting voice, "They're right in front of you. Although it's understandable you don't recognize their bodies. Fire is a destructible element."

A split second of confusion, a second of hesitation before my world ripped itself apart. "Those burning piles are our parents, aren't they?" My voice was creepily calm and collected. However, there was turmoil boiling inside me.

After the surge of grief, I felt anger. How dare they hurt my mum and dad and Sandra! Anger gave me strength, and I was going to destroy this coven. I tensed to leap, but a comforting hand on my arm stopped me.

It was Corrin. He was also restraining Annalie, although that seemed a much harder feat, as she was struggling and growling ferociously.

I was about to open my mouth to shout at the strange, flaky leader, when a flash of red hair caught my attention. Victoria. I hissed and growled. The wench had some misplaced vendetta against our family. Could she have caused this…?

Annalie and Corrin were growling too. "What are you doing here?" spat Corrin in a low voice that positively dripped with danger.

Victoria just laughed. Her eyes danced with vindictive pleasure. I hissed again.

The leader spoke again. I would never forget that lilting voice, "On behalf of the Volturi, we destroyed these three vampires for creating not one, but three immortal children. These crimes are unjustifiable." He paused in his speech, and looked at us.

What immortal children? I glanced briefly towards my siblings, and they had the same look of confusion plastered on their face.

"The three immortal children must also be destroyed. The secret must be kept."

"But none of us are immortal children!" argued Corrin anxiously. "You can hear our heartbeats, can you not?"

The main vampire tilted his head at our direction and leered, "We do not refer to human children changed to vampires. You are mutants of our universe, and rather than let you risk exposing us all, we shall end your pitiful lives."

"What have we done to even risk exposure?" I argued back hotly.

Ignoring the fierce snarls from Annalie, he coolly replied, "I cannot see how you three are all even half vampire. Our reproduction systems froze long ago. It would make more sense that you are all humans with some sort of odd power, or something that Charlie changed. And for that, you must be put to death. Of course, we all know you are too young to be controlled."

"You are speaking in riddles! It seems as though you just want a reason for our deaths!" cried Corrin frantically, his pose protective as he stood before us, vainly trying to protect us from them.

Shrugging nonchalantly, the head vampire said, "Maybe we do just want a reason to kill you. No matter, you pose a threat to our existence and for that, you must be exterminated."

With those words, the army pounced on us. The overwhelming numbers stopped any hope of escape. The pain was indescribable. Ripping us limb from limb. The fire …

It was burning. The heat was rising. It was beyond uncomfortable. Why couldn't I move? I was pinned down, choking on the ash and the flames. It took so much effort, but I got Corrin under my shield. My blood was boiling and I couldn't scream, no matter how much I tried to.

The fire burned, but now it did not destroy. Flames flicked and licked our skin, stinging and prickling wherever it touched. My shield was strong enough, but why was I still burning on the insides?

The Volturi left quickly, along with Victoria. When the fire put itself out, we started to stir and put ourselves back together. It was torture to the highest degree, pulling limb after limb together. The sinews stung as our bodies regenerated, slowly, but surely. We crawled over to the charred bodies of our parents … they were dead.

Finally I could scream.

_~End Flashback / Dream~_

Angela was shaking me roughly awake. I rubbed my eyes and tried to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. That nightmare had been extremely detailed. It caused the regular hollow ache in my chest to burn. I shuddered at the memory of reconnecting my arm with my shoulder. The pain was just indescribable...

I grabbed my reed pipe as a lifeline. My dad, Charlie, carved it. He made one for my siblings and I. Each one had an individual noise, too high pitched for humans to hear, and it had the first letter of our names carved into it.

We laughed when we realised that the letters spelt out A, B, C. My mom made the necklace string from scratch. I grasped it tightly to my chest. I only had this and a few precious pictures as physical reminders of my parents' existence on this planet. It was the only necklace I ever wore.

After calming myself down, Angela turned to me.

"Was the nightmare about your parents again?" She asked gently in a quiet voice.

I nodded, not too sure on my voice. She patted my arm soothingly. She didn't know anything of the vampire world, but I told her some details of my past, humanizing it for her sake.

She was my roommate back in Alaska, and she knew about my nightmares. Angela was probably the closest human friend I've ever had. None of the other friends I've had enabled me to talk about my parents the way Angela let me. She never pushed for information, and let me think things out quietly.

The car shuddered to a halt. "We're here," Angela said. I peered out of the passenger side window to the nice house looming above us.

It was two stories high, walls a pale blue with a dark blue roof. The garden was absolutely adorable. The house and garden were big, but not too big to be ostentatious. I thought it was perfect. Otherwise I wouldn't have bought it.

Angela was quite upset that I used so much money on a house because of her. Her grandmother's house was much too small. She insisted on paying rent, but I persistently declined.

Angela was aware of my better than average financial status, thanks due to the large amount of money inherited from my parents and my uncanny luck in the stock market. But, bless her, she still felt guilty that I spent so much money. I had rolled my eyes at her when she mentioned it.

The moving van was here. I sighed. Time to get unpacking. We had to hurry. School was tomorrow.

*******

I straightened the photo frame on the wall. A forever frozen image of my mom and dad smiled brightly back at me. It was nearly a century and a half since I last laid eyes on them. I thought I was coping, but the vivid dreams were wearing me down. I choked back a sob. The picture showed my mom before she was a vampire, her eyes glazed over with love as she stared at my vampire dad. I had to look away.

My new room was modestly large, with a blue colour scheme, as per following the rest of the house. I added more darker blues and purples. I had a nice queen sized bed, even though I only needed a few hours sleep a day.

I turned on my state-of-the-art computer and quickly e-mailed Corrin pictures of the room and house. I loved redecorating, so I documented what all my creations looked like with photographs.

Satisfied that Corrin was still a part of my life, regardless of the time and distance apart, I headed downstairs to prepare dinner for Angela and I. I could handle some human food, and actually enjoyed eating a few meals. I decided some simple pasta would do for dinner; there wasn't much time for more elaborate measures.

As I chopped the onions, my throat burned and it reminded me that I would have to hunt. Soon. School was tomorrow. Although human blood smelled funny to me, I'd rather not chance it. Hopefully I could find some deer in these parts. Deer is my favourite, with the added bonus of not destroying my favourite outfits.

I scowled at the memory of a huge bear ruining my favourite red blouse. Then another memory of a mountain lion ripping my favourite pair of jeans deepened my frown.

Dinner was a quiet event, as usual. I wasn't a talker, and Angela never pressured anyone to divulge information. So we just chatted quietly about school, and how nice the house was. Angela again told me how she felt guilty, making me laugh.

After cleaning up, I told Angela I was going to go check out the hiking spots. Every time I went to hunt, or practice expanding my shield or controlling fire, I would tell Angela I was hiking. She hated it, so there was no chance of her joining me. Sometimes, I wondered if she could tell I used hiking as an excuse for some alone time.

As I walked, I was deep in thought about my dream and my past.

I was born to be a defensive creature. My shield blocked physical and mental attacks. But after the Volturi, which I later learned were the police force of our world, I felt the power of fire and could control it. Corrin had a theory on trauma, and how it changed Annalie and me.

Corrin stayed the same, there was no fire bending for him. Sure, he was less carefree, but he would always be my overprotective brother. I felt a pang in my chest as I thought of him. He usually lived with or near me, but for the last decade he's been busy tracking Annalie.

Ever since our parents' death she seemed more distant. I thought there was something wrong, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Of its own accord, my hand traced the crescent shaped bite mark on my neck.

Without our parents, it was hard to blend into society, so we had to wait it out in orphanages and, later foster homes. Corrin and I dealt with it easier than Annalie. Depression was steadily wearing her down. After several years and multiple relocations, we finally physically aged enough to get a place of our own without arousing suspicion from any adults.

The first night I awoke to sharp pains in my neck that burned like fire. I remember that I had yelped, thinking that the Volturi were back, and when I leapt around I only saw Corrin struggling with Annalie, his strong arms locked around her petite frame.

Blood was trickling down her jaw. It was easy to remember the way it glistened in the mild light. I knew she had difficulty sticking to our preferred diet, as human blood smelled off to me, it was doubly enticing to her. I think she mainly stuck to the diet for dad. Had she killed a human? Her dirty blonde hair was matted with blood.

I leapt out of bed to assist Corrin, only to receive scratches from Annalie. I was confused with her behaviour. Then I felt my blood trickling from my neck. She bit_ me_? I recalled I had begun to sway, as I started to feel light headed.

"Your fault! _Your fault!_" She kept screaming over and over, her brown eyes wild with pain and desire.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked her, trying to get some calm into her system with my voice.

She stopped struggling. Corrin waited a minute before hesitantly letting her go. She sat up and looked me in the eye, "It's _your_ fault mom and dad and Aunty Sandra are dead."

I froze in place, before gasping and sobbing. Corrin ran to my side straight away, patting me on the back, consoling me, soothing me with meaningless words.

He turned to scold Annalie, but she was gone. She left through the window.

Since then, I haven't been in proper contact with her. Except several assassination attempts, she has remained no more than a shadow lurking in an alleyway. Even with her hostility, I still wanted to talk to her. Highly unlikely, I thought to myself.

I was adamant on following her, but the venom she left in my system made me weak and ill. When the Volturi soldiers bit me, nothing really happened with their venom, no scars, no nothing.

Annalie's venom was really something different. Corrin debated whether it was a sub-species side effect, or whether it was due to biological traits we might've both inherited. Either way it took weeks of recovery, all from one bite.

I shudder to think of what would have happened if Corrin didn't pull Annalie off of me in time. I wondered whether Corrin was next on her hit list. At the moment, all efforts seemed to be aimed towards me.

Sighing heavily, I walked along another trail. The scent of some elk made my throat flare. I sank into a hunting crouch and followed my prey. The poor thing stood no chance against me.

*******

I got home before dark. Today was particularly good, meal wise. I found a rather large herd, and I didn't spill a drop of blood on my body. I didn't even snap my heels.

Angela wasn't there when I arrived. A note on the fridge said she was visiting her grandmother at the hospital. I hoped she was okay. Angela loved her grandmother dearly.

All of a sudden, I was hit by a wave of fatigue. That was odd, I just slept. But I guess the day was so long, and I just wanted a nice dreamless sleep.

Quickly showering and changing, I rushed to my soft bed. I fell asleep the second my head hit the bed. Tomorrow was sure to be another tiring day.

*******

_Tweet, tweet, tweet!_ Opening my eyes, I saw several birds twittering outside my window. Those birds were now on _my_ hit list. I was having a rare dreamless, restful slumber.

The clock on my bedside table said it was four o'clock in the morning. I tossed and turned in an effort to get some more sleep, but I knew my efforts were futile.

Being half-vampire, I had no need for ten-hour blocks of sleep. A few would do me fine. So I groaned loudly and pulled myself out of bed and into the shower.

After the shower I felt much better. I waltzed out of the bathroom, spirits considerably lifted. Until I remembered I had school today. I sometimes wished I just stuck to being a university student or something. But on the other hand, if I hadn't gone to Alaska and acted as an innocent high schooler, I would have never met Angela. Lucky Corrin suggested the idea to me.

I sat down on a beanbag and groaned. One thing I detested about the constant moving and changing of identities was school. I knew all there was to know at a high school level. I've taken university classes. I aced all those classes too. Sciences were my major, with History as my minor.

Therefore I found school a somewhat dull tedium. But at least Angela would be there with me. I thought about this as I dressed. I put on a dark grey turtleneck sweater with black skinny jeans. I chucked on my usual black converse shoes.

The sweater was just pretence for the humans. I was much, much warmer than your average human, and I could stand in a blizzard and the snowflakes would melt as soon as they touched my skin.

I had a few hours to kill, so I immersed myself in _Pride and Prejudice_ and listened to my music player. It was relaxing to read and listen to music. The small patches of sunlight that passed the wall of clouds and went through my bedroom window made my skin glow dimly.

Time passed quickly and all of a sudden, Angela was yelling at me to hurry up and get downstairs. Grabbing my messenger bag and mobile phone, I leapt down the stairs and ran to the truck.

"Took you long enough. Don't tell me you were drooling over Romeo again," she muttered as I hastily climbed into the passenger side seat.

I huffed. Angela thought it was funny that I liked Romeo. "No, I was making googly eyes at Mr. Darcy," I replied sarcastically.

"Ah, Jane Austen. Should have guessed."

We kept up this playful banter until we reached the school. Angela cut the engine and turned to me.

"Thank you for coming to Forks with me. It was totally unnecessary but I am truly touched." There was a somewhat awkward pause before she continued, "And I'm visiting my grandmother after school, so do you want to come or walk home?"

"I'll walk." Angela's grandmother wasn't exactly comfortable around me. I took a deep breath and said, "Well, lets get this over with."

We reached the office, and after a slow wait we finally got our schedules. I looked over at Angela's and I realised that we had all our classes together, excluding Biology and English.

First up was History, so we picked up our bags and headed to the class. I gulped. Sure, I was a near indestructible creature, but high school was always a torturous, judgemental place. Hmm, I guess I could compare it to Hell.

After awkward introductions, we sat somewhere in the middle of the classroom. I could feel the eyes burning holes in my head.

I let my long locks of brown hair cover my face as I worked. Set my killer sister on me and I could fight like a hundred lions. Put me in a classroom with two dozen gawking teenagers and I turn into a coward. Shameful. Ever since I suffered through the orphanages, I wasn't really a lover of crowds. I could be confident when the situation demanded it, but usually I stuck to shy.

We were to write an essay on World War II. I grimaced. I actually lived through that as a nurse serving on the battlefields. It was a terrible experience, but I saved many lives. I think that anyone – given my circumstances – would have done the same. I decided to do the essay on the treatment of females during the war.

Trigonometry passed slowly. Mathematics never held my attention. With my quick thinking mind, equations were all too easily done.

As the bell for lunch rang, a blonde, baby faced boy tagged alongside us. I raised an eyebrow, and he hastened to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Mike. I know you're Isabella and Angela," he rattled off at a rapid pace. I could easily imagine him as an annoying golden retriever that wouldn't leave you alone.

For reasons unknown, I disliked him immediately. He gave off an irritating vibe. "It's Bella, and I believe it is convention to wait for people to introduce themselves, otherwise one may come across as a crazy stalker."

The look on his face was priceless. Angela took pity on him.

"Don't worry about her. First day of school nerves." I just stuck my tongue out at her in response.

They began talking, and I was about to put in my two cents worth, when a scent hit me like a wrecking ball. _Vampire_.

I stiffened and paused in my step. Angela and Mike looked at me with questioning eyes, so I quickly shook my head and darted forwards to catch up with them.

My mind was in over-drive. Was it the Volturi? Or was it just a passing vampire? So many questions were spinning around my head.

We were almost at the cafeteria doors. I relaxed my stance and concentrated on controlling my heartbeat. I wanted to show no signs of panic.

I took a deep breath. Looking at it logically, it _could _be the Volturi checking up on me, but they _wouldn't _be here. Their goal was to keep the vampire world under wraps. There is nothing that could lead them to me. I relaxed a bit more.

It could be another random vampire, and I wouldn't mind that. I was more than capable of handling that. After all, what vampire could survive a strong pyromaniac like me?

I was thoroughly relaxed as I walked into the cafeteria. As I loaded my tray with an apple and some yoghurt, I joked around with Angela. I loved red apples. No idea why, but they were delicious to me.

Mike herded Angela and me to "his" table. We were introduced to a group of various humans. Jessica, Lauren, Ben and Tyler. Jessica talked a lot – she came off friendly enough.

Lauren was staring daggers at me for no reason that I could see, and Tyler was openly checking me out. I blushed red and turned to Angela – who was in deep conversation with Ben.

I sighed internally as I started on my apple. Mike was trying to engage me in a conversation about football, but I wasn't really a fan of football. Or sports in general, really. If you are faster and stronger than all of your opponents, not only is it unfair for them, but also it takes all the fun out of the game.

Glancing around the eating area for something interesting to break my boredom, I saw them. My jaw dropped slightly in shock. They were on the very far side of the cafeteria.

It was a coven of three vampires sitting at a table. All of them were beautiful of course, but that was not what piqued my interest. They were all calmly sitting in a roomful of humans, and not one of them attempting to kill any of them.

I tensed. I didn't want to fight in a roomful of humans. But it was good to see a bunch of vampires that had some measure of self-control. I considered different scenarios to what they were doing.

They could be planning an elaborate trap. However, they cannot possibly have the need for this many humans. I pondered this as I began my strawberry yoghurt.

Suddenly a very nice idea came to me. Maybe they don't drink from humans! They could drink animal blood like my brother and me. My mum and dad, when they were alive, had the purest shade of honey in their eyes, instead of the traditional red. If I could find that, then it would be confirmed. I had never met another vampire that had the same diet as my family.

My eyes, and along with the eyes of my siblings, didn't change, but I liked my brown eyes. My mom said that I got it from my dad.

I looked up at their table again. They were all deep in conversation with each other, it seemed they were in a bubble of their own. Ah, too far away to see their eyes.

I really wanted to ask about them, and as I turned to, Angela stole the words right out of my mouth.

"Who are _they_?" She was staring at them and was directing her question to Ben, yet it was Jessica who answered.

"Oh _them_," she sniffed before continuing. "Well they moved here three years ago. Dr Cullen and his wife adopted them all. The blondes are the only related ones; Rosalie and Jasper Hale, and the bulky guy, with the brown curls, his name is Emmett."

She leaned in closer before continuing. "There's usually another guy, who by the way is absolutely gorgeous, his name is Edward. And there is also this annoying pixie of a girl, Alice. But they're not here, I bet they're hiking, they always seem to be."

I was stunned. A coven of _seven_? That was possibly the highest amount of members in a coven that I had ever heard about, excluding the Volturi.

"Wow, that's generous of the doctor to adopt so many kids," said Angela quietly.

Lauren scoffed. We all turned to her.

"Well, they're loaded with money, so it's not like a burden. I'm also pretty sure that Mrs. Cullen can't have kids," responded Lauren, her voice saturated with distain.

"I still think that's pretty decent," argued Angela. She always sees the best in people.

"Whatever, those kids are freaks, they're so weird. And rude, come to think of it," sniffed Lauren before she got into a conversation with Tyler.

"Look who's talking," I muttered quietly to the rest of the table. They all had to stifle giggles.

Jessica restarted what she was saying before, "But the really weird thing is that they live together and," she paused for dramatic effect, "they are like, _together_." Her tone implied a relationship of sorts.

Mike decided it was time for him to add something, "Yeah, Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rosalie. Edward is the only loner."

"Don't waste your time on him. Apparently, no-one in this school is good enough for him," Jessica said somewhat bitterly. I had a gut feeling she tried to ask Edward out and was met with an icy reception.

Luckily, it seemed he declined. I knew that human / vampire relationships could work – my mom and dad were a number one candidate example. Then again, even my mom had to change into a vampire eventually, but only after she insisted on having a child.

She never expected to have a pair of fraternal twins. Annalie and I nearly killed her. Humans were weak, so much self-control had to be used around them.

Every hug could turn into a grip of death. Every slow dance could snap their spine. Every kiss inches away from teeth that could rip through metal. Yes, restraint would be needed in humongous amounts.

The rest of lunch was uneventful. The bell rang and for the first time, Angela and I had to split. I gulped and was suddenly overcome with nerves once more.

I headed off to Biology and she headed to her Spanish class. I had considered signing up for Spanish too, but I found Biology a little interesting at the very least.

I arrived late and sat at the only empty desk. Mr. Banner was my teacher, and I immediately realised what a clueless man he was. So I took out my headphones and started listening to music. I was still tense from seeing so many vampires and I needed to calm down.

While doodling on my book, I was pondering whether it'd be worth the effort to change into a more senior class, when I noticed Mr. Banner was staring intently at me.

When he realised he caught my attention he barked out, "Ms. Swan, I know you are a new student here, but you must be aware that we do not tolerate music devices in class. What if you were to miss out on some important information?"

I was stressed and anxious from the close call earlier, so I just snapped at his comment, "I _highly_ doubt that this class could offer me anything new, especially with you as a teacher. By the way, 'phospholipid bilayer' is spelt with 'PH' not 'F'."

He was stunned into silence. "How dare you speak to me in that manner!"

"How dare _you_ inflict your poor knowledge of science unto these unsuspecting students!" I retorted.

"Ms. Swan, I will give you one chance to apologize, or I will be forced to give you a detention!" His face was steadily turning purple. The class was watching us like a tennis match, heads swivelling back and forth.

"Mr. Banner, I am sorry for my rude behaviour," I sounded extremely sincere, but when he turned his back to the whiteboard, I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out.

He didn't seem to realize I never took my headphones out. For the rest of the lesson he tried to catch me out with spontaneous questions, many having nothing to do with what we were studying.

As he soon found out, I could answer every question with ease. The questions in response, got harder and harder, and I could tell they were at university levels. I nearly scoffed.

All the students in the room were clueless, yet were watching the exchange with interest. Mr. Banner was getting less and less confident with every sentence coming out of my mouth.

The bell rang and I headed off to my next class with a swagger. Mr. Banner looked angry, but he couldn't punish me for knowing the answers to his questions. It seemed like this class was going to be fun.

I laughed quietly all the way to my next class.

*******

It was the final bell and I walked briskly out of Gym class. I hated playing the lethargic human.

It was quite a relief to know I had no classes with any of the vampires. If they knew what I was, I would have to move and go into hiding. I'd be forced to abandon Angela, and I really didn't want to do that.

On the stroll home, I considered telling Corrin. Fingering the phone in my pocket, I imagined his response. All scenarios ended up with me moving.

With that, I decided to keep him in the dark for now, so I could prove that I could live here inconspicuously. Last I heard he was in England. There was no need to uproot him.

School wasn't too bad, but I was incredibly glad that tomorrow was Friday. After school maybe I could check out the local shops. I'd like some new clothes.

*******

**EPOV**

I growled in frustration. Alice and I skipped school to track this new vampire, but their scent trails ended in the strangest places.

"Calm down Edward," Alice said, patting me on the back. "We'll find them eventually. Even if we don't, they don't seem like a threat."

"Then why can't you _see_ them?" I snapped at her. Alice always had been able to see the future and tell us what was going on. The blurry images running through her mind were definitely a first.

She tapped her index finger on her chin, biting on her tongue as she thought of an adequate response.

"You know my sight isn't fool-proof. I think it might be me. Lately when I try to look into the future, it gets blurry and jumbled up… It's like there's a missing piece." She opened her mind to me and showed me some of the more recent images to re-enforce her point.

She tried to sound confident and chipper, but I could hear the nervousness and annoyance in her mental voice. Being a mind reader meant that no matter how good of an actress Alice was, I could still hear into her mind and find the truth. Alice was irritated. She hated being blind sighted. But she didn't want me to go crazy trying to hunt down this vampire.

_After all it's only been a day…_ She thought.

I guess she's right. An over-reaction will do no one any amount of good.

I sighed as I thought of the tedium of school tomorrow. The thought alone gave me a headache as I imagined the expectant babble of voices to invade my head. School was my personal Hell.

*******

**A/N: I hope that you enjoyed it. Reviews are very much appreciated. Cookies for even reading it. :-)**


	2. Falling Over

**A/N: Hi there! This is **_**Tellytubby101**_**, and I just want to say that I'm amazed that you're still reading! It really brightens my day and makes me break into random grins. My family have been wondering on my mental stability...**

**I want people to know this in advance: Bella and her brother are 150 years old, approximately. Though Charlie mentions using artficial insemination, let me have my creative licence and say he invented it just for that purpose. Vampires are smart enough to do that in my mind.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I do own a copy of the books however. *Shrugs*. Good enough for me.**

*******

**BPOV**

I woke up sweating and panting. The dream I had just awoken from was incredibly vivid. I bolted to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face in an effort to calm myself down.

I wished for what seemed like the billionth time that sleeping pills could work on me. My metabolism and immune system metabolised the drugs before they took any effect.

Glancing at my alarm clock, I saw I once again awoke too early. Four o'clock. I nearly screamed in frustration.

Walking into the kitchen, I saw Angela was already up. It was surprising, as she usually slept until seven in the morning. She was nursing a cup of coffee, and looked very tired.

"What's up?" I asked as I took my own mug of coffee. Caffeine didn't wake me up, but I liked the feeling of something hot sliding down my throat. It was the heat of the drink more than anything else that woke me up.

She moaned and said in a raspy voice, "Ugh, I had the _worst_ night's sleep last night. I think my dreams featured the bogeyman and a headless chicken."

I laughed and said, "Those would be an improvement on my dreams." I winced as I remembered what I had dreamt last night.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to come off as inconsiderate or anything. I didn't mean to..." Angela immediately apologized. She was always so nice, I couldn't see why she doubted herself so badly.

Angela was amazing. It was hard for me to believe my luck, meeting her at the boarding school in Alaska. Not only was she kind, but also, she was utterly selfless, dropping everything she had in Alaska to come to dreary Forks and care for her grandmother. If she weren't eighteen, her parents would have stopped her. But she was strong and demanded that a family member cared for her grandmother instead of some nurse. In the end they compromised, letting her come here with a friend to look after her. I tagged along to keep her company and to help with her deal. It wasn't hard seeing as I was fairly well off and that I had "permission" from Corrin. At times it was great having my brother as my legal guardian.

I waved off her apologies with my hand. "Don't worry about it. Tell me about it. It sounds funny."

She scowled at me. "It wasn't funny! It was really scary at the time," she explained. "I was running from the bogeyman, yet no matter how hard or fast I tried, I wasn't moving. The headless chicken was definitely there somewhere, but I can't remember much, it's getting blurry."

I considered this. My dreams were always as clear as a picture. Remembering them wasn't hard. Probably due to the fact my mind is part-vampire. Hmm, I idly wondered what it would be like to dream of random stuff. It'd be an improvement to what I suffer through most nights.

We joked quietly about random things until the light from the rising sun that beamed through the windows reminded us to get a move on for school. Angela cleared her throat.

"I think I'll visit my grandmother after school again..." she trailed off before looking at me.

"I'll be fine walking. I'm sorry I can't visit her with you though." I visited her a few months ago with Angela and she all but physically attacked me.

"Don't be," Angela hurriedly assured me. "It's not your fault she has some misplaced notion that you're a demon sent from the underworld." She concluded with a nervous giggle.

Angela's grandmother was a perceptive, shrewd woman who had strong religious beliefs. I had a strong gut feeling that she was well aware of the fact that I was different from everybody else. She was always trying to convince Angela to stay away from me, but Angela defended me and spoke very highly of me to her grandmother.

Eventually, she stopped badgering her, so I thought she abandoned her true, yet farfetched, idea of my mortality.

Angela was terribly upset, and it warmed my heart to see how she defended my honour against her only grandmother. But I was also ashamed to be a cause of conflict in this otherwise peaceful family.

I decided to cook waffles as Angela took a shower. Staring blindly at the sunrise, I noticed how slowly it rose. Today was going to be a slow day. I just knew it. The sun disappeared behind the veil of clouds. Sighing, I began to mix the batter.

I left Angela alone to have breakfast, as I slowly walked upstairs to my room. I shoved my headphones in my ears and checked my e-mails, only to find an empty inbox. I felt a bubble of disappointment in my stomach. Corrin would've usually replied to my email by now.

I really wanted to talk to Corrin. I hadn't seen him in such a long time. Six months to be exact. I missed his piercing brown eyes and infectious smile. I missed his bone crushing hugs and his upbeat personality. Keeping in contact via phone calls and e-mails just wasn't the same. I considered calling him, but my alarm clock went off and reminded me to get ready for the tedium of school.

As I packed my bag, I chucked in _Romeo and Juliet_. I hoped I could get through a few scenes in Biology – the one class I could sit down in without Angela. I could never read it near Angela; she always was playfully teasing me about Romeo. Not to mention that the Biology teacher was grating on my nerves.

Halfway through scrubbing my teeth clean, I heard Angela yell for me to hurry up. I quickly finished up and took a cursory glance at my appearance. I was wearing a black hoodie, a thick, white wife-beater, a pair of faded denims, and my usual black Converse shoes. It looked okay.

Glancing at my reflection and my wardrobe, I decided that it was definitely time for an updated look. I wanted some bright reds and blues and greens. I decided that I should check out the shops this weekend.

I heard some honking from down below, and I suddenly realized how late we were. I ran faster than I should for my human façade, but we really had to rush. In my haste, I tripped and half-fell into the passenger's seat. It was times like this I wished I were graceful, but generally moving at a human pace made me trip up. But it wasn't like I could get hurt or something.

Angela reversed the car out of the driveway as I buckled my seatbelt. She looked me over. My hair was messed up from the run and I had mud on the cuffs of my pants from where I accidentally kicked it up when I ran here. To top it off, my face was flushed.

"Smooth," she said before bursting into giggles. I pouted, but before long, I was laughing, too.

I had managed to control my hair and clean up a bit by the time we arrived at school. We parked next a new looking Volvo that was absolutely drenched with the smell of vampires. I crinkled my nose as I jogged over to English. The smell was not disgusting, but it naturally put me on my guard – and I didn't like having to feel defensive all the time.

Walking down the hall quickly, I arrived as the bell chimed. The teacher was still busy handing out books, so she didn't tell me off. I sat down in the only empty seat. As I turned to see whom I was sitting next to, I nearly fell out of my seat.

It was possibly the tiniest vampire I had ever seen. She couldn't have been taller than five feet. Her silky black hair was cropped extremely short which suited her pixie-like frame.

She didn't notice my reaction. Her eyes had a glazed look, and I vaguely wondered if there was such thing as a blind vampire. I slowed my heartbeat right back down by calming myself, and began taking notes on the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

I pushed my hair as a sort of barrier between us, blocking most of my view of her, but in turn shielding my face from her gaze. I had to relax. If too much adrenaline entered my system, then she would almost certainly be able to smell the vampire in me.

I began to recite the Declaration Of Independence in my head, while simultaneously translating it into French. Concentrating on something else, even though it was rather trivial, truly helped, resulting in a calm Bella. I exhaled a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding.

The next time I looked over, I noticed that the tiny girl (wasn't I told yesterday her name was Alice?) was staring at me with an expression torn between confusion, intrigue, curiosity and irritation. Was it possible for a face to hold so many emotions? Maybe I was reading too much into this. I flushed red and ducked behind my curtain of head again. Could she tell what I was?

Her eyes held a tinge of gold, but were otherwise black, and I almost smiled at this. They were my kind of vampire, though that didn't rule out the possibility of them being dangerous to me.

The bell rang out loud and clear, and I hastily packed my messenger bag. I scuttled off to History as fast as I could without attracting unwanted attention...

...only to run into Alice in the doorway. Her hard little body collided with mine and she fell. I think it was shock more than anything else that caused her to fall. Blushing, and mentally cursing my luck and untimely clumsiness, I helped her onto her feet.

Her face was pure confusion; there were no traces of the earlier annoyance. I murmured several sincere apologies. She was staring at me more intently than was comfortable, so with a hurried goodbye, I once again made my way toward History.

*******

**APOV**

_We are sitting at the cafeteria table and Emmett turns to me and..._

I groaned. Everything went blurry again. I felt like thumping my head, but I knew that wouldn't help. Why couldn't I _see _properly?

I felt blinded. After a little under a century of knowing what was going to happen with unwavering confidence, not knowing was... unsettling at the very least.

I glanced around at my English class. None of my classmates noticed me looking – or trying to look at least – into the future. Had assured me many times that humans thought similar things, _there's that weird Cullen, zoning out again_.

_If only they knew_, I thought to myself, with an undercurrent of bitterness.

Bam! The vision that entered my mind was strong and clear. It was concrete. Nothing could stop this from happening, excluding divine intervention.

_Snow was falling gently into a field, and flames were flickering in the background. Everyone in my family gathered, including me, staring with horror at the flames. But I couldn't _see_ the flames clearly, like I did the rest of the scene._

_The roaring fire got bigger and blurrier. I could see us all yelling, but this vision didn't seem to have an accompanying soundtrack, so I couldn't hear exactly what we were saying, although it seemed more like screaming._

_But then the silence ended with one word, Edward's terrified scream, "Bella!"_

With that the vision ended. I was irritated beyond belief. That made no sense whatsoever.

I was pretty sure that Bella was one of the new girls at school. Why would Edward be interested in a human? Would he snap and take an innocent life?

_No, that can't be it_, I thought. I replayed the vision, and clearly heard the pain and desperation in Edward's voice. _Am I missing something here?_

A slight shuffling noise to my right told me someone was sitting next to me. That's odd. Usually I'd _see_ that, so I could prepare myself for the enticing smell of blood.

I turned to look and was surprised to find a new student next to me sitting next to me. According to the murmurs of the other students, her name was Bella. Just the girl I was looking for.

The heating vents blew her scent to me, and as I braced my body, I could tell something was off. Venom pooled in my mouth, but there was an odd undercurrent the top layer of her scent.

There were freesias and cinnamon, but underneath those scents there was … something else. I just couldn't pin down what it was.

She peeked up at me, and I saw surprise and fear flit across her face. Understandably of course – it's in her instincts as a human to be scared of us, vampires. Bella must be uncomfortable with me staring; she was hiding behind her long brown hair.

My natural curiosity was bubbling through. I wanted to introduce myself and find what was so special with her. As I opened my mouth, the bell rang, and Bella practically jumped out of her seat.

I hastened to block her path, but she was looking at the floor. I didn't need to be psychic to know that she was about to slam into me.

I took a step out of the way, just as she tried to get out of my way. She veered and started heading towards the door. But I was blocking her again. She accidentally rammed into me, causing me to fall over.

_What? _

She caused me to fall? How? I was fully aware that as a vampire, I should have been the one to remain upright while she fell down.

I looked at her curiously. There was definitely something different about Bella, something off. She was concentrating on apologizing to me, and she looked so embarrassed. Her cheeks were painted a bright red. I could hear the wet thumping of her heart.

From a visual point of view, she wasn't out of the ordinary, a sort of pretty girl-next-door look. She was nearly pale enough to pass for a vampire, but there was a mild glow to her skin, similar to moonlight bouncing off a human's skin.

There wasn't really anything wrong with her – apart from a strange smell and an odd strength. I decided not to tell anyone about the vision, until absolutely necessary. No need to cause panic. It may even be a different Bella.

Edward would just have to get used to hearing large blocks of texts being translated into Egyptian sign language.

I stared at her retreating frame, before wondering,_ maybe I'm looking too much into this_. Shaking my head, I gracefully made my way to Art.

*******

**BPOV**

Mike and Tyler were giving me weird looks during lunch that made my instincts scream run. They looked at me like I was a piece of meat and they were hungry. Eww.

I had a vague idea that they were trying to impress me. However they were doing a terrible job of it. Mike was hinting, very obviously, of a concert in Seattle, and how he had two tickets for it. Tyler was droning on and on about his past sporting accomplishments.

I was torn between amusement and irritation. Would these eager suitors be so eager if they knew I could kill them in a heartbeat? I amused myself by imagining their reactions if I ever told them what I was, but alas, I had to stay quiet on the subject. Although, I wished that I could tell them, 'cause it would get them off my back. The mere thought of telling someone made me laugh and made me feel a little less annoyed.

Jessica was nicer to talk to, albeit slightly boring and repetitive. She seemed over-excited at the concept of an upcoming 'girl's choice' dance in a few weeks. Lauren seemed fine talking to Jessica, but met every comment I made with a sneer.

Angela and Ben seemed lost in a world of their own, deep in discussion. They had clicked the moment they met. Ben was really infatuated with Angela and vice versa. Hmm, the upcoming dance would be a fantastic moment for Angela to ask Ben out. I may have to play matchmaker… Human life spans were too short to waste time waiting for something.

Glancing over at the Cullen table, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, I could see that Jasper was staring intently at Alice, while she shook her head vigorously. I sighed a breath of relief and turned back to my tuna sandwich. None of them were staring at me, so I assumed it was safe to say they had no clue to what I was.

The vampire named Edward had yet to make an appearance.

I wished that I could befriend someone who was outside my family and had experience with all things immortal. Corrin and I discussed it years ago, and we decided not to. Any vampire we befriended would be endangered from the Volturi; after all, we were meant to be dead.

Sometimes I felt that we were being overcautious. It was doubtful that the Volturi would consider us a threat. However, if a passing vampire saw another vampire hanging with what seemed like a human, then they could go to the Volturi.

And if the Volturi turned up and found out my siblings and I survived, not only would they take us back to their base in Italy, but they might run tests on us, or even worse, force us to work with them.

Another danger was Victoria. If she ever found out that I was alive, well... it'd probably resemble something like the incident were my parents were killed. She hated my family, and I found it was hard to understand the reason why...

_~Flashback~_

"Victoria, my dear!" Charlie ran up to her and pecked her on the cheek.

"Charlie! How have you and Renee been? Has immortality suited her?" Her childlike voice tinkled from the doorway into the living room. Charlie murmured something in a foreign language to her, making her laugh at whatever he said.

I was incredibly nervous. This was the first vampire my siblings and I were being introduced to. My breathing turned into gasps. Renee rubbed my back soothingly.

I could hear Charlie beginning the explanation, "When you walk into the living room, promise me that you won't judge. You are one of my closest friends, so please, I want you to wait for explanations."

"I will, I will. Now what was so wonderful that you had to show me?"

I heard the footsteps as Charlie led her to us. I tightened my grip on Annalie's hand.

When Victoria walked into the room, her eyes zoned in on us immediately. Cringing, I buried my face into my mother's hair. I wanted nothing more than to disappear. It seemed Annalie was mirroring my movements, just as uncomfortable in this position as I was.

"Charlie. What have you done?" Her voice was nervous and angry. "These are forbidden! Immortal chi-"

He cut her off. "These are not what you think they are. They are my daughters and son. My biological children."

Victoria's face was beyond baffled. If the situation wasn't so serious and crucial, I may have laughed.

She gulped and sat down on a sofa with a weary look on her face. "I promised not to judge, so explain. Quickly."

Charlie took a deep breath before continuing, "Renee was all set on becoming an immortal. But she wanted a child more than anything. She wanted one of her own. I was all for the idea, but I was assuming she was talking of using another male. However, she wanted a child with me." Charlie paused, looking at Victoria's reaction.

Her face gave away nothing, and she inclined her head, a silent order to continue.

"Well, I didn't know if that was possible. So many arguments sprouted from it. Renee almost gave up hope, until Sandra came into the picture. Sandra is the only human that knows about us." He pointed to my aunt on the left of me.

Victoria looked at her like she only just noticed her. Charlie persevered.

"Sandra offered to be a test subject. Renee saved her life several years back, and I guess she considered it a repayment of sorts."

Sandra piped up and said, "She saved me in more ways than one. I just felt like I had to repay the favour. I don't regret the decision at all." She finished by leaning down and kissing Corrin's forehead.

"Anyway," continued Charlie. "After using artificial insemination, she got pregnant. We were all gob smacked at this. A month later, out came Corrin. The strain almost killed her, but by using venom injected directly into the heart I saved her.

"I was more afraid than ever at this point. There was evidence that Renee could die, and I was terrified at the idea of losing her. But she knew her goal was possible, and after months of pestering, I caved.

"Renee was beyond delighted at the idea of fraternal twins, even though we knew that it would be a bigger strain on her than it was on Sandra. She nearly died."

A look of pain flashed across his features when he said this.

"With the help of Sandra and her venom, Renee is alive and well. Renee wanted me to change her, but I was busy with the children."

We all looked at Victoria. She was my father's oldest friend, and he desperately wanted to keep her in the loop. Her face was still impassive, but I saw a flash of longing in her eyes when she glanced at me.

My mom spoke for the first time. "They have heartbeats and blood in their body. Their skin is as tough as ours is and they too have venom. They grow at a rapid rate. You can see they are truly vampire / human hybrids. Bella, Annalie, say hello to Victoria."

She nudged us, and we both waved timidly. I heard Corrin being told to do the same from Sandra.

Victoria suddenly got up and was right in front of me. Renee hissed automatically.

"Such a pretty baby..." she crooned at me.

Renee visibly relaxed until Victoria straightened up and said in a commanding tone, "I want her. Give her to me."

Almost straightaway my mom and dad were in an uproar at the concept of giving me up. Sandra was growling; she loved me like I was her own.

Victoria was standing calmly in the middle of us, waiting for us to settle down. Only her eyes betrayed her feelings – they were wild with desire.

"Oh come on. You have two of them. I have always wanted children, yet am barred from receiving my wish due to this cursed half-life. Yet here you are, cradling two of them in your unworthy arms. Charlie, we've been friends for years, you must understand where I'm coming from. A child has always seemed to be an unreachable goal. But you have two. Give her to me, or you'll regret it. I love you, but I want a child more than you know."

I trembled; I didn't want to go with her! "Never," spat my mom and dad simultaneously.

Charlie forcibly removed Victoria from the house and when he returned, he hugged Annalie, my mom and me tightly, while Sandra and Corrin hovered in the background, shocked from what had just come to pass.

"We will never leave you," Charlie whispered into my ear.

_~End Flashback~_

The school bell rang, pulling me from my memories. I walked slowly to Biology.

Annalie blamed me because Victoria wanted me, and when she didn't get what she wanted, turned my parents over to the Volturi. As I sat down on my workbench, I pulled my headphones and book out.

I hoped the music would drown out my thoughts. I didn't want to have to deal with this right now. Squirming on my seat slightly, I attempted to get into a more comfortable position, and began my book.

I heard the chair next to me scrape the floor, but I didn't look up. I was too engrossed in my book.

Mr. Banner started the lesson doing the same thing as the last lesson. He kept firing off random questions, and I could answer them without a pause. I only looked up to look him in the eye as I answered him with polite tones. I wasn't going to antagonise this teacher any further. But he didn't seem as flustered as yesterday when I answered all his questions. I guess he finally checked out my academic history and realized that I was a stellar student.

Pausing only to copy down notes I've written a dozen times before (so he couldn't punish me as I was technically doing all the work), I sat happily reading _Romeo and Juliet_. I reluctantly put it away when the bell rang. I peeked at who was next to me, only to see a pile of tousled bronze hair pass me quickly as he walked from the room.

The heating vents blew his scent in my face. I nearly gagged at the concentration of it. No way... he smelled of vampire.

I couldn't believe I sat in a room for a whole lesson with, what I assumed to be Edward – as I didn't recognize him – without even noticing. I felt like smacking my forehead multiple times, while saying_ stupid, stupid, stupid_ on repeat.

Great. I just happened to have two classes with two different undead creatures. Both of them just ha to be sitting right next to me. I wanted to kick something. My luck could not get any worse.

*******

If there's a higher force up there, then I bet they're having fun messing with me. What else explains how I ended up in Edward's arms?

Okay, first off, let's rewind to five minutes before the scene of the crime...

It was after my second lunch period and I hurried off to gym. The gym teacher, Coach Clapp, told us that we were going to, and I quote, "_Experience the awesomeness of basketball_."

Basketball was on my "top five most hated sports" list. Because I had to act as a normal human, I generally tripped on my feet. Repeatedly. If I could walk and run with my natural speed, things would be easier.

Sighing as I changed into the tacky gym uniform, I tied my shoelaces and made my way outside. We were split up into teams and as I let my mind wander, so I didn't really notice the students mulling around me. I wasn't too comfortable in large crowds; they brought back memories of the orphanages.

The coach's whistle indicated the start of the game, and Mike had the ball. I nearly groaned then. _Mike_ was in this class? I wonder why I didn't really notice him in my class yesterday. He passed it to another student and the game was up and running.

After doing practically nothing for several minutes, the coach barked loudly at me to participate. Mike heard this, and in what he thought was a noble gesture, he passed me the ball.

Even though my reflexes were good enough to skip from the ball, I couldn't without arousing suspicion from my speed. So the ball hit me on the head, and I assumed that the force would cause me to topple back if I was a human, so I let myself fall.

I cringed, awaiting the thump as I hit the ground. But it never came. Instead I was aware of a pair of strong arms wrapped around my frame, accompanied with the scent of a vampire.

I shivered a bit. Compared to my body heat, his body was _freezing_!

I looked straight into a pair of honey-tinted eyes. Edward. He was much more handsome than I thought possible. His attractiveness was enhanced due to the extremely close proximity.

His hair looked windswept and his crooked smile stopped my breath. His eyes sparkled with amusement and surprise. But there was definitely something else. Longing? No, I'll bet it's probably just my imagination gone wild.

My mouth opened and a string of muttered apologies fell out. I straightened myself up, blushing bright red the entire time.

"Err, by the way my name is Bella." I added that on due to convention. After all, I did just fall into his arms. The least I could do was introduce myself.

"My name is Edward. It's very nice to meet you. You're in my Biology class too, aren't you?" His voice was a typical vampire voice: smooth, entrancing, enticing. Yet it was different at the same time, deeper, bearing similarities to music. Heavenly. I had to stop a sigh from escaping my lips.

"Yes, I think you're in my Biology class. I'm not too sure though." I tilted my head and put an unsure mask on my face. I did not want him to think I had paid him any special attention because I knew he was a vampire. Years and years of lying to humans made me a fairly competent liar.

He was staring at me in a way that made me uncomfortable and made me want to blush. It was like he was trying to find something in me. His brows were furrowed in concentration.

Suddenly the extremely irritating voice of a certain Mike Newton entered my head. I turned around to see him flustered and seemingly ashamed. "Bella are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you on the head! I just wanted to pass you the ball. Do you want to go to the nurse's office?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed at him. "Don't worry about it Mike. It'd take a lot more than that to get rid of me!" I laughed again before turning to Edward and saying, "Thanks for catching me. You could say you swept me off my feet!" Damn, that was a corny line.

Hmm, my confidence seemed to come back a little. I returned to the game, participating a little more than was absolutely necessary. I got a few hoops in for my team and only fell once more.

During the entire game, I could not help but notice, with peeks from the corner of my eyes, that Edward was looking intently towards me.

Usually I'd respond with a wave or a smile, but he would turn away. Confusing to say the least.

I shrugged it off. Vampires really shouldn't interact with humans. So I guess talking to me was out of the question, as everybody believed me to be completely human.

But what if they knew what I was? I began to feel a little panic building up within me at the thought. Maybe when Edward caught me, he was finally close enough to smell the vampire in me. I didn't feel up to fighting an entire coven.

_Look at this logically_, I told myself. Very few vampires are aware of the possibility of a hybrid species, and many wouldn't recognize the signs of one. I calmed myself down as I walked to the showers.

I walked out of gym with Angela, talking animatedly about the shopping trip to Port Angeles I had planned for tomorrow. She interrupted my planning with, "Oh wow, did you nearly pass our when _Cullen_ caught you? Oh swoon." She imitated fainting motions.

Scoffing, I replied, "Nah, sure he's good looking, but I like a guy with some depth. Someone who's polite, not someone who looks pissed every time I smile at him. Anyway, you shouldn't be eying him. Don't you have your heart set on Ben?" I grinned evilly at her.

She stuttered, "No, no, we're just friends." It was easy to hear the longing of something more behind her voice. Couldn't she see Ben wanted the same?

We arrived at the car and I told her I wasn't dropping the subject and how I planned on reopening it once she gets back from the hospital. Not only was it a bit of harmless fun, teasing Angela on her somewhat obvious infatuation of Ben, but it also made her forget entirely about Edward.

He looked like a God, even by vampire standards. He was polite. Gosh, he seemed perfect. But then I remembered his weird looks and somewhat hostile attitude that confused the hell out of me.

Better than I didn't interact with the lot of them more than absolutely necessary.

As I walked home, I stared at the thick band of clouds blocking the sun. I liked the sun on my skin; it made me glow. I smiled as I remembered the weather report indicated sun over Forks on Monday.

No vampires. Warm weather. What a perfect mix.

*******

**EPOV**

I had skipped the morning half of school trying to track the visiting vampire. I didn't know why, but I felt on edge at the very mention of them.

There have been no new scent trails, so Alice and Esme think they might have left. It took hours – I was persistent – but I eventually gave up the hunt and headed off to school.

Arriving late wasn't a problem; I was a perfect Cullen. The school knew we were smarter than all the staff combined, so it was easy to make our school days flexible.

Before I entered the room, I mentally prepared myself for the onslaught of thoughts. Sighing, I walked through the door.

There was a girl sitting at my desk. Immediately, I felt quite hostile towards her. Thanks to her, my throat would be on fire throughout Biology. It was the only class I had a desk to myself. She must be another chattering, idiotic member to the thoughtless flock of sheep – also known as the student body.

As I sat next to her, it hit me. There were no thoughts coming from her, just silence. Confused, I listened harder. _Another day of school... I wonder what's for lunch... Mom better have remembered..._ Everyone around her had thoughts streaming through their heads.

From her however – silence. I looked at her more closely. I didn't recognize her at all.

Then I recalled how Alice talked about some new students coming to Forks High. I wasn't paying much attention to what she said, so I was still in the dark as to what the mysteriously silent girl was called.

A student walked past her and the air that was blown into my direction was filled with one of the sweetest scents I have smelled in a century.

It burned my throat a bit, but it didn't flare up my blood lust. It felt … nice. Like smelling a flower. She smelled divine, but it didn't encourage my blood lust. The nameless girl smelled fabulous, yet not in a way related to food.

I looked at her properly.

She was beautiful I had to admit. Her petite frame had curves in all the right places, long brown curls cascaded down her back and she was hunched over slightly.

I peered under all that hair. She was bent over reading _Romeo and Juliet_. Ugh, I never could stand Romeo. Now that I listened carefully, I realized that she was listening to music.

I sighed and leaned back. There seemed to be nothing otherwise remotely interesting about this girl. She seemed silly in fact. Does she honestly think that her hair can hide her book and stop her from getting into trouble?

Mr. Banner cleared his throat. The girl didn't even look up or bat an eyelid. Usually he began the lesson with a brief overview, but today it seemed he was intent on quizzing the girl.

I frowned. The questions he had planned were at university levels. Surely it was unfair to embarrass her like this, giving her questions she almost certainly could not answer.

Then he remembered the previous day, where she answered similar questions with ease. Thanks to her, he had a mild inferiority complex. I nearly laughed. It was about time someone told off Mr. Banner.

He fired off questions at an alarming rate, but "Ms. Swan" as Mr. Banner called her, answered every single question, her eyes only leaving her book to stare him straight in his eyes and she answered every question with a tone of eerie politeness. Her headphones never left her ears but Mr. Banner never noticed that.

After a dozen questions, his shoulders slumped and he finally decided to get on with the lesson. I had a brief view of the girl smiling, but she shifted and her hair covered her again.

It was quite a show. Those questions I would have thought no high school student would have been able to process and answer correctly. I stood corrected.

The clanging of the bell told me it was time for Calculus. No, I didn't introduce myself to the girl yet!

Hmm, now that was odd. I never wanted to talk to anyone outside my family. However, this girl was different.

_No_, I berated myself. It would do no good to get more involved with this girl than absolutely necessary. I was a vampire for crying out loud; she would run away screaming if she knew the truth.

So I hurried out of the class before I would succumb to the urges to talk to the girl. I wish I knew her name...

*******

I hated Gym. Playing sports with humans was no challenge. Playing baseball with my family, now that was a different matter.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw the mystery girl walk out of the changing rooms. _What a small world_, I thought. More like a small, under-funded school.

She never looked up from her feet. She looked a bit nervous for some reason.

_Mmm, why can't they make the sports shorts a little shorter?_ Mike's rather loud mental voice was filled with disgustingly vulgar images. He was staring at her shamelessly. I was surprised that I had to bite back a growl at his lewd thoughts. I had heard many thoughts like this over my lifetime, but never had they elicited such a response from me.

The game began and I was paying no attention to the basketball game. Mike was desperately trying to show off to the Swan girl, but she was barely paying attention to the game; she seemed rooted to the spot and was staring off aimlessly into space.

Of their own accord, my feet made their way over to her. I really wanted to talk to her. She was so calm and collected in Biology, yet shy as anything here. Frustrating. Fascinating. What was going through that pretty little head of hers?

The coach noticed her lack of participation and ordered her to join in. Mike passed her the ball, trying to get on her good side.

The basketball hit her on the side of the head. She stumbled backwards, straight into my arms.

The girl was incredibly warm. She was much hotter than an average human should be. The warmth shot through my body to the very tips of my toes. I noticed just how soft she was. But it was not a normal fleshy sort of soft that humans left like. She felt stiffer than that, but was soft all the same.

She looked incredibly flustered, the rosy red blush bringing a smile to my lips.

As she straightened herself out, blushing all the way, she kept a constant stream of quiet apologies in her soft melodic voice.

"Err, by the way my name is Bella." She added on somewhat hesitantly.

Bella. What a fitting name for someone so beautiful.

"My name is Edward. It's very nice to meet you. You're in my Biology class too, aren't you?" I replied as smoothly as I could.

"Yes, I think you're in my Biology class. I'm not too sure though." She looked confused and I felt disappointment that she didn't notice me during class like I noticed her.

I searched her face closely. Maybe close proximity will grant me access to the elusive thoughts running through her head.

Bella's attention was now focused on Mike as he muttered apology after apology for the basketball incident. All I was paying attention to was his thoughts: _Maybe she'll need me to carry her to the nurse's office…_

Again I felt the need to bite back a growl. I was unsure to why his thoughts were so irritating to me. Before I could look into it further, Bella was talking again.

She rolled her eyes and laughed a sweet tinkling noise. "Don't worry about it Mike. It'd take a lot more than that to get rid of me!" Another laugh escaped her lips and she turned to me and said in a teasing tone, "Thanks for catching me. You could say you swept me off my feet!"

Speechless, I watched her continue playing the rest of the game. She was still a little clumsy, falling once more, but she succeeded in getting a few points for her team.

Every time she saw me look at her, she tried to wave or smile, but I would always look away embarrassed. Why was I so interested in her?

Strolling out of the gym, I caught a snippet Bella's conversation with Angela, who was teasing her about how I had caught her earlier.

"Oh wow, did you nearly pass our when _Cullen_ caught you? Oh swoon." Her attempts at fainting were fairly amusing and accurate.

I listened closer, for reasons unknown, suddenly nervous for her response.

Bella scoffed and said, "Nah, sure he's good looking, but I like a guy with some depth. Someone who's polite, not someone who looks pissed every time I smile at him. Anyway, you shouldn't be eying him. Don't you have your heart set on Ben?"

I stopped listening as the conversation turned to Angela and Ben. A great swell of disappointment bubbled in the base of my gut.

_Did I want Bella to like me?_ She was smart, mysterious, funny, and beautiful…

Actually, the question should be, _should_ I want Bella to like me?

And the answer to that has to be no. I was inhuman. Her instincts would always be screaming at her to run from me. It would never happen.

But I remembered how she didn't cringe from my touch, how she lingered there longer than necessary… _No, it's just my imagination getting out of hand._

Alice's voice broke through my thoughts as she informed me of her shopping trip planned for tomorrow. Apparently there was a one-of-a-kind dress that she had to get.

Although I knew it was rude, as I drove home I tuned everyone out. I wanted to know why Bella had such a pull over me.

I didn't want to talk to my family about this. Emmett's teasing or Rosalie's disdain; I really didn't need it. Jasper could feel my confusion brewing, but he didn't comment on it. Alice's vision was impaired, so it seemed unlikely she can _see_ what is going to happen with Bella and I. Alice complained about losing her sight and it worried me more than I let on.

For the first time in a century, I was unsure.

*******

**A/N: I'm not into the whole "**_**connection in Biology**_**" scene. Too overused. So thanks to a suggestion from a very special person (you know who you are!), I had Bella literally fall into Edward's arms in gym!**

**I also thought it'd be better if Bella didn't smell like dinner to Edward. 'Cause she's already immortal right? So she wouldn't need to change, so the smell would never go. I doubt Edward and Bella would enjoy an eternity of Edward in pain. That's my reasoning anyway.**

**I'm taking their relationship slow. Not **_**too **_**slow, but slow compared to a lot of other FanFictions. So be patient!**

**Flames, reviews and suggestions are very much appreciated. Cookies for even reading it! :-)**


	3. Meeting Place

**A/N: A big hello to all my readers out there, from an incredibly gob smacked _Tellytubby101_!**

**This chapter has a lot of progress for Bella and Edward. Remember: this is not a "_love at first sight_" story. They have crushes, but still need to build trust to make a proper relationship. Your patience will pay off!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, I wouldn't be on FanFiction. *Rolls eyes*.**

*******

**APOV**

Ugh, the future was a muddled mess lately. It was giving me head pains, which seemed equivalent to migraines a human would get.

I could _see _things that weren't directly connected to us, like the way the stock market is moving or the weather. However, if I were to peer into any one of my family's future, I see only a blur. Edward's future was the worst of the lot. I couldn't see him as well as I used to and it was worrying me.

Was something terrible going to happen?

Feeling absolutely useless I tried looking again, this time concentrating my efforts on the Swan girl. Bella. For some reason, I think she had something to do with my headaches. Every search into _her_ future came up with blanks. Not even vague impressions. Pure nothingness.

It was strange. My visions changed with decisions, but I couldn't tell a thing about her future. That has never happened with any human before. No one could possibly change his or her mind at such a rapid rate.

Sighing, I flopped down onto the leather couch in the living room and wondered if the two anomalies were connected. Not just Bella and my visions, but Edward too.

The others–Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme and Jasper–still gave me brief glimpses into their future. I could actually _see _them fairly clearly when I concentrated.

Edward had a future filled with blurs and bright colours that melted together.

It seemed more plausible that the problem was near here, rather than the passing vampire still affecting me, when he or she already seemed to have left. Grr, this was all so infuriating!

I heard Edward's footsteps coming into my room. Opening my eyes, I saw the concerned look on his face. He winced as my headache became his headache.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, even though he could clearly hear my mental screams of frustration.

Rolling my eyes at the question, I decided to inform him of my new insight. I was aware that I wasn't going to tell my family, but things were getting weird, and I had a gut feeling that we were going to get stuck in the middle of something. And I felt it wasn't something trivial either.

"My headaches, my sight impairment, I _think_–remember now, emphasis on the _think_ here–but I think it's got something to do with the new Swan girl."

Recognition and confusion flashed across his features. "Bella? How does all this relate to her?" He sounded defensive and he frowned when he heard my reaction to his tone.

With a raised eyebrow, I asked, "You know her?"

If he was able to blush, I swear he would be bright red right now.

Ignoring my thought, he answered in a calm tone, "I have Biology and Gym with her. No big deal."

"I never said it was. _You_ seem to think it is, though." Edward frowned again.

A sly thought entered my head: _Does little Eddie have a crush on Bella?_

He scowled but didn't deny the allegation. After he heard my thoughts, he was immediately on the defensive. Lucky the rest of the family was out hunting, or he'd never live things down.

"No! I _don't_ like her. I mean, I like her, but I don't have feelings for her!" I rolled my eyes.

"Tell me what happened," I ordered expectantly. He knew better than to try and fight. I always get what I want.

He paused before launching into an explanation. Apparently this girl was smart, beautiful _and _didn't entice him to kill her.

"She seems like quite the package," I chuckled as he described her falling into his arms. Clumsy. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

"She wasn't a complete imbecile or wholly unattractive," he replied slowly.

"Keep up with the times, Edward! You meant to say, '_She's hot!_'Emmett would love to hear that coming from your mouth," I said, laughing.

His head was cocked to the side as he remembered something. "She _was_ hot," he said slowly. "But in the temperature sense of the word. Now that I think about it, she was hotter than a… well, than a werewolf."

My jaw dropped open. _You don't think she has some werewolf relatives, do you?_

I thought back to earlier, when she so easily knocked me down. Then I remembered her strange scent. _It could be possible…_

"She knocked _you_ down?" Edward was snickering at the memory. I scowled at him and playfully smacked his leg.

"Shut up! _If_ she is a werewolf, then that might explain why I can't see her. It also explains her strength. Werewolves leave me blind too, but not to this degree. Anyway, she does smell different, but in a good way. Not that horrible wet dog smell. I doubt this theory is true, but hey, anything's possible."

He shrugged and said, "We'll find out more about her on Monday." A sudden thought made him smack his forehead, "The weather report said the sun will be out. Is that true?"

Closing my eyes and concentrating, I saw it. "Yes, it will be, so the investigation will have to wait until Tuesday." I heard voices gradually getting louder from the north. Our family was coming back. "Hey, are you going to tell the others?"

"Might as well. There are no secrets in the Cullen household," he said somewhat agitatedly.

*******

After several snide comments, many thanks to Rosalie and Emmett, we all sat down and discussed the possibilities.

All the boys and I thought there was a possibility that Bella was different, in _our_ sense of the word.

However, Rosalie was the usual pessimist, saying we were overreacting to the most trivial things. She had a point. Poor visions, a fever, and me falling over could've been a coincidence. But we talked it over anyway.

Esme hoped she wasn't different. If Bella was different and decided to attack us or cause a hostile situation, a war could easily erupt. Esme detested violence nearly as much as Carlisle did.

Jasper and I searched for information on Bella in archives and via electronic means, but nothing came up. Other than a birth certificate–a very vague one at that–there was no other proof that Bella Swan existed. No awards, no newspaper articles, no photos, no nothing. There wasn't anything on her relatives either.

Although the lack of information was extremely suspicious, there was nothing we could really do about that. Yet.

I never did tell anyone about the horrifying vision I had in English. Edward always stared at me curiously when he suddenly heard Russian opera sprout in my head. Aside from the curious glances, he never commented on it.

As the morning came, I dressed and left for Port Angeles in my bright yellow sports car. With the way I drove–speeds of over three times the legal limit–I arrived at the shops in no time flat.

It was an odd experience, shopping without knowing what outfits there were and whether they'd suit me. I tried to look into the future but was met only with blurred colours and faint outlines. What I was seeing was like someone had run his or her hands through a child's finger painting.

In an odd way it was exciting and liberating. I was shopping like a normal person! How peculiar. I was anything but normal. Even as a vampire, I was never ordinary; I was _extra_ordinary with my sight.

Smiling, I walked slowly along a rack of clothes, looking for a dress that I had a vision of a few days ago. The dress was simply divine. I wasn't sure that it suited me, but I just knew that I had to go look for it.

Why? No idea.

A quiet voice broke through my thoughts. Standing on the tips of my toes–I wasn't exactly well-equipped in the height department–I peeked over the racks of clothes and saw a frowning Bella Swan speaking into a phone.

"No, no, Angela. Don't worry about it… I totally understand that you can't hang out. Your grandmother has to come first… What? No, no… Yeah, we can talk later over dinner… Say 'get well soon' to your grandmother for me… Yeah, bye now." Sighing, she hung up and started sifting through the clothes in front of her.

Pausing, she pulled from the rack a beautiful deep blue dress that I knew instinctively would work well with her figure. It was the dress that had starred in my vision!

That's when it all made sense. I wasn't meant to look for the dress. I was meant to find Bella and talk to her. It seemed her shopping buddy had to bail on her for a family matter.

Bouncing with excitement, I skipped over to her and introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen. I just happened to notice that you're shopping alone. That's no way to go at it! Coincidentally, I'm also alone. I was wondering if we could shop together?"

I said all that rather quickly, and at first all her face showed was shock and confusion.

After a quick moment, she regained composure and introduced herself, "Err, yes that would be quite nice. My name is Bella, by the way. Bella Swan. But I don't doubt that you already know that. There are no secrets in Forks," she concluded with a smirk, like she knew a few secrets herself.

We were a bit awkward at first, but after a few comments and jokes, we were chatting comfortably like we'd known each other for years.

Immediately, I could tell she was smart. She was not only stubborn but also very opinionated. We were currently arguing pros and cons of miniskirts.

I was losing pathetically. It was yet another new experience for me. I've always had the knowledge of my opponent's comebacks, and therefore had time to create a proper counter argument. Edward was the only one I could really fight; his mind reading skills levelled the playing field.

Bella apparently hated the things. "They're pointless as protection from the elements. One big gust, and it's a peep show for everyone!"

"But honey, they give us an excellent chance to show off our great legs!"

A few hours later, we were sitting comfortably in a little café, Bella insisting on a chance to recharge her batteries. She was sipping a cup of hot cocoa. When I didn't order anything, she didn't bat an eyelid.

Usually humans are a bit curious about our lack of diet, but her expression almost looked like she was expecting me not to eat.

_Does she know what we are?_ I was suddenly a little nervous, but that feeling soon dissipated. Bella was really easy to be around. Relaxing. Jasper would like her.

Bella certainly was amazing. The booth we were sitting in was quite small, and we were sitting right next to each other, legs touching. Her legs were so warm, I felt like I was sitting next to a heater. She never flinched or cringed away from the contact like most humans would when their survival instincts kicked in.

And in close range, I definitely agreed with Edward. The girl smelt nice! Floral somehow…

Right now, we were laughing about on of Emmett's earlier exploits.

"And he was like, 'I didn't _mean_ to put milkshake on the ceiling. How was_ I_ to know that you have to close the lid on the blender?' Gosh, Esme was so mad at him…" I was laughing quite hard at the memories. Emmett was really clueless sometimes.

Bella was clutching her sides, shaking with quiet laughter.

Once she calmed down a bit, she turned to me and said, "Tell me more about your family. Emmett seems interesting enough on his own."

I would have to be cautious not to let anything…unusual slip. "Carlisle and Esme adopted Edward, Emmett, and me. Jasper and Rosalie were fostered into the family. They're Esme's niece and nephew. Nothing else much to tell."

"Oh, I don't care where they're from! I want to know their temperaments. You know, see if they're all as nice as you are." She nudged me and smiled.

She watched me closely as I told her that I was the bubbly, energetic member of the family and that Emmett's the silly, protective big brother. I explained with a secret smile that Jasper was the 'calming influence'. Describing Rosalie was harder, but I said that she was cynical and self absorbed; hopefully that would let Bella pass off her often rude behaviour. Her eyes sparkled as I spoke of Esme, as being the clichéd loving mother, and of our 'father', Carlisle, as the ever so smart doctor, who loved us all dearly. And Edward… well I called him…brooding. But I told her that he reads most people well.

"What an interesting collection of individuals," she replied lightly as she stared into the depths of her hot chocolate.

"Well, you can see what you think of them yourself when you meet them," I told her this in a confident tone. It was an on-the-spot decision, but I thought it'd be a good idea for my family to form their own impressions of her. She _seemed _harmless enough.

Sputtering on her drink, Bella looked up and said wryly, "I'm meeting your family now, am I? When did we decide this? I'm not exactly keen on meeting parents."

"Bella, you're going to love my family! Calm down, they're not so bad. In fact, they're all rather sweet." She didn't argue the matter further, but she still looked unsure about the whole idea.

"So tell me about your family," I asked.

"You don't want to hear it," she told me in a hard voice. Her entire demeanour changed. She sat stiffly, her facial expressions guarded.

Although I was aware I was being rude, I was just so curious. So I kept asking and prodding until I finally wore her down. "Parents aren't always great for public display, but you can tell me about them," I told her in what I hoped was a soothing voice.

A flash of pain crossed her face. "My parents are dead. Killed in a fire. My older brother is my legal guardian. He's somewhere in England. My sister hates me and blames me for their death. Are you happy now?" she snapped at me.

I was taken aback. "Sorry," I mumbled.

There was nothing else I could really do. In the transformation process of turning from a human to a vampire, my memories were wiped clean. I had no experience of the pain in losing a loved one.

I felt ashamed that I made her tell me something she was clearly uncomfortable revealing.

We were both quiet for a while, lost in thought. Bella started talking again about lighter topics.

The atmosphere reverted back to the way it was before. Almost. At random moments, her face would scrunch up and her face indescribably sad.

We finished shopping, parting ways at the car park. Swapping mobile numbers, we went our separate ways.

Bella Swan was certainly a complex person.

*******

**BPOV**

Walking around the shop absentmindedly, I noticed a beautiful deep blue dress that would suit me perfectly.

I wished Angela were here. Her grandmother suffered from a stroke a few hours earlier, and she really couldn't be left alone. Although I didn't exactly bond with the old lady, I knew she made Angela smile, and that made her a good person in my book.

I felt somewhat guilty as I thought about how I could never die. Unless Annalie got to me.

I knew I had to ditch Angela soon. I'd have to be gone before she noticed that I didn't age. It would hurt the both of us, but at least she would be able to forget–whereas I would live throughout eternity dwelling on crystal clear, painful memories.

That was a fair trade for immortality, right?

A high soprano voice was suddenly talking to my left. It was the tiny vampire in my English class! What did she want?

She wanted to shop with _me_?

I was suspicious, but I wasn't really up for a fight. After several hours of shopping together, I found Alice to be a really nice person–or a nice vampire at least.

As we chatted in a café, I learnt about her coven. But hearing the way she described it, it sounded like more than a mere coven—it sounded like a proper family.

Then I heard she wanted me to go and meet them! What was she, nuts? I vaguely wondered if this was a routine thing for them, befriending humans when they could kill them at any moment. Was it to strengthen their self-control? Or was this a new, one-off occurrence?

I doubted that she _just _wanted to introduce a friend to her family.

Unless they had a hidden agenda…maybe they wanted to kill me because they knew, or at least suspected, I wasn't human!

However, there was no proof, and the offer to meet her family seemed genuine enough. So I didn't disagree, but I never exactly agreed either. By her reaction, I could tell she thought I'd said yes.

But then she spoiled the atmosphere but persistently asking about my family. It agitated me, so I kind of snapped at her.

We left the mall on better terms though, after I broke the ice my reaction had caused.

I arrived home to see Angela looking tired and bleary eyed, sitting at the kitchen counter. Tear tracks trailed from her eyes. Her hands were wringing what appeared to be a chequered handkerchief, soaked with tears.

Wordlessly, I dropped my purchases on the counter and gripped her tightly in a hug.

Sniffling, she told me what happened, "They stabilized her, but for a few hours it looked bad. Real bad. I was so afraid I was going to lose her. She was always there for me. Teaching me to paint, to knit, and to sew. Giving me a little extra cash to buy clothes and trinkets. She hugged and loved me when my parents were fighting. What will I do if she goes?"

"She's a tough old thing; she'll make it." I consoled her the best I could. After a few hours, she calmed down a bit.

"So how was your shopping trip? Did you get anything nice?" Her tone clearly implied that she wasn't going to talk any more about her grandmother.

With a wary look, I informed her of several items that I had bought, when I suddenly remembered meeting Alice. I hurriedly told her about that, and she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Everyone I've talked to said that the Cullens keep to themselves. Your impression of Alice Cullen seems to contradict that."

"You should meet her! She's kind of over-enthusiastic but really happy. I bet she could cheer you up in a flash."

We bought pizza for dinner and chatted quietly about Alice and other subjects. Angela seemed keen not to stray the conversation back to her grandmother. Because she never pried me open forcefully, I gave her the same respect.

*******

On Sunday, Angela left to see her grandmother again. She apologized about cutting into the amount of time we could spend together, but I waved off her apologies. She had no reason to be sorry about her relative's state of health!

With the whole day to myself, I decided to go out and practice fire bending.

Walking to a secluded meadow hidden deep within a mass of trees, I stepped on up on a rocky outcrop. The entire open space was rocky, yet it was somehow beautiful.

It had no flowers or waterfalls, but the calls of the birds and insects mixed with the dimly lit forest made for a gorgeous landscape. The area smelled damp and moist and I could tell no one had been here in a while, excluding a few small animals. Moss grew sparingly on the muddy surface.

I revelled in the beauty and space this hidden meadow gave me. Then, after a tense glace around to see if there were any sentient witnesses, I changed my footing into an attack stance.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. Flames burst from my fingertips and rapidly encased the length of my arms. I knew from experience that I could cover my entire body in blue flames, but I didn't want to go home naked.

I wasn't wearing any fireproof clothes at the moment, although I had a few pieces in my wardrobe.

The arms of my t-shirt singed a little, but I was controlling the flames quite nicely. Corrin thought that thanks to my natural shield, I could manipulate fire without burning myself. I wasn't too hung up on the reason; it was quite a nifty and handy trick.

Annalie was better than me at mastering her flames. She used rage and anger to fuel the fires.

In one of her numerous attempts on my life, I saw her use black fire. The strongest I could make was blue fire. I guess I didn't have that kind of anger and fight in me.

However, my shield was much more advanced than Annalie's. Loneliness, I think, weakened the shield. I'm surrounded by a loving friend and was not constantly trying to kill my only family. Sometimes, I broke through it with _my_ fire and burned her.

It hurt her, but to be honest, I had a right to protect myself.

It was hours later before I went home, leaving the rocky outcrop smelling of smoke, mixed with a little bit of gunpowder. With constant practice, I was getting much better. I practiced both defensive and offensive moves.

Fire bending was sort of like martial arts, just with fire added to the mix. Different movements caused variations on the flames. Being just over a century old, I had learned from a few of the best martial arts masters from across the globe. Many were reluctant to teach a girl, but I proved to be a skilled student, and many were proud to have taught me.

I just hoped it'd be enough if I were to face Annalie again. It has been almost a year since her last visit to claim my life, which was a fairly long period for her.

Was she trying to lull me into a false sense of security? If so, her strategy wasn't working. I was ready.

I didn't want to hurt her, but if she hurt someone I love, Corrin especially, then I wanted to be able to make her pay.

I was tired, but I really wanted to get some books from the local bookstore before the day ended. So I started the walk out of the forest and towards the store.

*******

**EPOV**

I toppled a tree in frustration. The vampire was back! Yet we all missed them again! How did that vampire escape us?

It was a puzzle that we couldn't crack.

Carlisle found the scent trail earlier in a rocky meadow while on a hunting trip. The rocky outcrop was saturated with the smell of smoke. As if someone was burning something. There was no trace of a campfire or anything though.

The really odd thing was that the scent ended within the meadow. No markers or trails leading in or out. It seemed as though the person had just appeared there.

The forest was abundant with the smells of animals and plants. It was backpacking season, so a lot of human scents were also in the forest, mingling with one another. We made sure to stay away from these areas.

Alice was annoyed too, but she was still glowing from the aftermath of her little meeting with Bella yesterday.

My stomach did an odd flip flop at the idea of Bella meeting my family and me properly. I had no clue as to why, though… I know, it sounds like I was in denial.

Alice shared with me her memories of their meeting. I grew to like Bella more and more. She seemed witty and cute. Her laughter was like music. But there was definitely something she was hiding.

I headed into town. If there were any rumours running through the mind of the local townsfolk about recent murders, then I wanted to hear them.

I passed the pub and the grocery store – still nothing. As I briskly walked past the bookstore, I heard a familiar melodic voice within.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had already ducked into the bookstore. Her scent hit me immediately.

I saw her brown hair turn a corner and become hidden from view behind a bookshelf. I heard the quiet music coming from her headphones.

Turning the corner, I saw her head bobbing to the lyrics as she mouthed the words. Her eyes were occupied with a book. It was a book on a very old branch of martial arts. I wondered why she was so interested in a book on fighting.

Leaning in and whispering in her ear, I said in a breath as light as a whisper, "Hello Bella. You made quite the impression on my sister yesterday."

I expected a jump, a change in heartbeat, _something_. Instead, she just stood there, and replied in a cool voice, "Ah, nice try, Edward. It's going to take a little more than that to scare me."

Closing the book, she turned to me and smiled brightly. I was left slightly breathless. Her smile lit up her face, making her look, impossibly more beautiful.

"So what brings you to this little bookstore on the corner of this minuscule town?" Pausing to appraise my outfit, she continued, "With your designer outfits, and judging by the way your sister threw away money like that yesterday, I'm pretty confident in my assumption that you're just rolling in cash. Not only that, but you have the best car in the entire town. I'll bet that's not even your _best_ car – there's probably a sports car tucked away in a garage somewhere.

"So, when you have the means to get a first edition copy of any book you want, why are you walking around here?" She said all this calmly and finished with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes were burning with curiosity.

Following her as she walked along the aisle and looked at another book, I answered in an equally calm voice, hopefully masking all the surprise I felt, "Very nicely deduced Nancy Drew. But I was just in the neighbourhood and thought I'd pop in."

She scoffed before turning to me and staring me straight in the eye. "There _has_ to be a better reason than _that_. Not to sound egotistical, but I'll hazard a guess that you wanted to talk to _me_. Everyone says the Cullens are extremely reclusive, and to happen across two different members of the Cullen clan for a chat – both conversations were started by you and your sister – must mean there has to be something you need to say to me. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me."

I was left speechless. This girl noticed so much! Recovering quickly, I knew I couldn't ask her what she was outright. Nor could I tell her my family were composed of vampires. "I'm sorry for trying to be nice and make friends."

Rolling my eyes, I turned to walk out of the store when I felt her warm hand tugging on my shirtsleeve. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to accuse you like that. I'm naturally paranoid."

Her brown eyes were asking for forgiveness, and I couldn't possibly deny her. "Okay then. Are you getting any books?"

She laughed at that. "Like they could teach me something I don't already know."

Her comment confused me a bit, but her laughter was so infectious that I laughed along with her. Walking out of the store, we talked and found out we had similar taste in music. But we had different tastes in books. We disagreed heavily on _Romeo and Juliet_. Bella liked the story, whereas I believed it wholly unrealistic and not worth the time to read. She was fun to argue with. Her mental silence made for a riveting debate on the subject.

We ended up at a little corner store, one that mainly sold cakes and milkshakes. Bella pulled me towards a particular table, and we sat in a small booth near the back.

Bella asked if I wanted anything, and I was sure I heard an undercurrent of sarcasm to her question. When I declined her offer, she ordered a large slice of chocolate cake with an accompanying milkshake.

The waitress was openly ogling me. She was flirting needlessly and when my intentions were made clear by my lack of eye contact, she left. Some of her very vivid mental images made me flinch.

Bella was stifling giggles at the occurrence. I scowled at her.

"Hey," she said in a playful tone. "At least the worst they can do is rub up against you! I've had guys grope me, and that was not a very fun experience."

I growled. Guys had touched her without her permission?

She rolled her eyes. "Calm down, big guy. I'm not the defenceless little girl people assume me to be. Usually the outcome is worse off for the guy than it is for me." She was laughing at a memory as her food arrived.

Totally ignoring the waitress, Bella started eating her cake. I politely asked the waitress to leave, when she paused, thinking that I might order something. She walked off in a huff, her thoughts saturated in jealousy towards Bella.

_We weren't like that_, I wanted to call to the nameless waitress. Yet I wanted people to think like that…

After we had talked comfortably for a while, Bella suddenly remembered something and blurted it out to me.

"Was Alice serious about me meeting your family?"

"I'm pretty sure she was. Why?"

She frowned and answered in a disgruntled tone, "For some reason this 'meeting' smacks more of an interrogation."

I laughed. This girl was _so_ perceptive sometimes compared to other humans; I really wanted my family to know her. But I didn't think she was particularly sold on the idea of going to meet them just yet.

Stretching, she glanced at the cupcake-shaped clock on the wall and jumped up.

"Damn, time flies when your having fun! I'm late for dinner with Angela. Sorry Edward, got to bail. I'll see you at school then."

"You were having fun?" I smiled playfully.

Slapping my arm, she replied, "Yes – now don't let that go to your head. You're quite a good arguer. It's fun to have someone who can debate as well as I can. Bye!"

She waved and skipped out of the shop after leaving some notes to pay the bill. Bella didn't seem like the type of girl that would allow me to pay, so I didn't insult her by offering.

Sighing, I leaned further back into the booth. I felt a connection with this girl that I couldn't explain.

The only thing left was to find out her secret.

*******

**BPOV**

I was incredibly buoyant after the late lunch with Edward.

Wasn't sure as to _why_, though.

When I confronted him in the bookshop, he chose to lie, but I decided I would let it slide. I liked Alice and hoped to keep her as a friend. Now I knew Edward to be quite friendly company. His behaviour in gym last Friday seemed to be a one-time occurrence.

As I remembered his terrible attempt to scare me, I giggled. I could hear his every unneeded breath and every footfall onto the padded carpet, even with headphones on.

I was more irritated than I let on about the waitress flirting, but I had no claim on him to be jealous.

Angela was in better spirits when she came home today. Her grandmother was getting much better.

She watched me suspiciously as I made dinner while whistling. A sly smile crept onto her face.

"Why are you so darn happy? Is this about a boy?"

"No," I replied too quickly and felt a dark blush making its way onto my cheeks. Blasted blush.

"Ha! Caught in the lie. Explain." She placed her hands on both my shoulders and steered me to the living room so we could talk properly as the stew I was making cooked.

Pausing for a second just to annoy Angela, I launched into a description of what happened today.

"So… you're _just_ friends. You totally want _nothing_ more. Right…" Her tone was layered with sarcasm, and to be honest, I deserved it for all the teasing I piled on her about Ben.

Curse karma.

We continued the conversation through dinner, but I finally ended it to get ready for bed.

Then it hit me. I really was developing a crush on Edward Cullen. But he was a vampire.

Oh _crap_.

*******

**A/N: It took a while, but now both Edward and Bella are both aware that they like each other more than friends.**

**By the way, the vampire the Cullens are searching for is actually Bella with adrenaline in her system. Note this!**

**This was a sort-of filler chapter, but it needed to be done to create a base relationship between Edward and Bella.**

**I appreciate any feedback: flames, reviews, suggestions etc.**

**This time, brownies for any readers!**


	4. Sunny Day

**A/N: Hi there! This chapter is dedicated to the ever so awesome: **_**HighViscosity**_** ! She has been with me since the start and helped me along the way. She is a brilliant person. :-)**

**This chapter's a big set up for the next one... *Hint, hint*. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I wrote Twilight, I wouldn't have made Bella such an airhead.**

*******

**BPOV**

I woke up screaming. Again. Thanking the foresight I had had to soundproof my room, I stumbled out of bed in order to occupy my mind from the nightmare.

Wandering around the house, I finally settled on going on my laptop.

Checking my e-mails, I deleted a lot of junk before coming across a message from Corrin!

Opening it, I saw several photographs of Corrin and his wife, Sophia, standing or posing in front of famous monuments. The images of their smiles made me smile in return. They visited many places as they tried to find Annalie.

Sophia was the only other hybrid that we knew who wasn't related to us by blood. We were in South America at the time, and we accidentally encountered one another.

When we first met Sophia, she was already on an all-animal diet. Her guilty conscience in killing her mother made her never stray too close to killing another human.

I could remember the day we met as though it were yesterday…

_~Flashback~_

"Corrin! Hurry up, or I'll have your panther for you!" I scolded as I watched Corrin play with his food. It was a bad habit he had. Sometimes I had to intervene and put the creature out of its misery.

He was circling the large cat, which was hissing and clawing at him, making large tears in his jacket. Finally, Corrin got bored and pounced.

The gurgling sound soon drowned out the cries of the panther. I sighed. It still hurt me a bit to kill any sentient creature or let one be killed in my presence. I wondered if she had cubs, and if we killed them by killing their mum. I knew what it was like to lose a parent.

Corrin interrupted my depressing thoughts as he stood up. Wiping the blood off his face, he laughed out, "That was _brilliant_! Bella, come on and lighten up! I only brought you to South America to get a smile on your face."

I slowly turned to him and when I saw what he looked like, I couldn't help myself but laugh. His dirty brown curls were matted with blood, mud and some sticks. The clothes he wore to highlight his lean, yet muscled, physique, was entirely shredded and covered in muck.

To a human, this would be a terrifying image. It probably would be one to me, if it was not for the stupid lopsided grin he had plastered on his face.

Usually I was the messy eater, but he was just ridiculous. He grinned hugely as he saw my reaction, and his brown eyes lit up.

"There you go! If you don't smile enough, you're going to die young," he joked.

Before I could reply with a witty remark, a loud crashing noise brought to our attention the existence of another person.

We immediately moved into a defensive crouch. My breathing sped up as I thought it was Annalie coming to get me. It was only a few days since I recovered from the last bite she gave me.

It was a surprise when a lithe dark skinned hybrid smashed through the trees. Her physical appearance gave the feel of a human, but her obvious strength pointed to another half immortal – like us.

She had straight, waist long hair as black as ebony and brown eyes that matched the colour Corrin and I inherited from our dad, Charlie. Her frame was skinny, but looked healthy. She was quite pretty.

The nameless girl's stance was also defensive; she obviously did not want to attack us. Yet. We made no move to open hostility – but we did not exactly give off the feeling of welcome.

Clearing her throat, the girl opened her mouth to speak. I could see in her eyes that she was nervous, but determined at the same time.

Her voice was smooth and musical, with a thick accent. "Hello. I mean you no harm. My name is Sophia. Can we talk?"

_~End Flashback~_

And talk we did. The conversation lasted throughout the day and part of the next morning.

Sophia learnt about us, and we learnt about her.

She told us that she thought that she was the only hybrid, a one of a kind freak occurrence. There are no others in the area. Apparently she was conceived when her mother was raped by a sadistic vampire, who was fully aware of the consequences.

She tracked him down, and found out that he was trying to create a brand new sub-species. So far only her birth was successful, as all the other mothers killed themselves, or were killed by their villages.

In disgust, Sophia refused to join him.

Her birth killed her mother, whom Sophia had grown to love inside the womb. Her mother's death caused a spark of hatred towards the vampire for not being there for her mother when she needed it. She never uttered his name aloud.

There was good that came out of her mother's sacrifice. Sophia refused to be the cause of death for another human, so she turned to "vampire vegetarianism" as a newborn baby.

With no one guiding her, the experience was dreadful for her, but she had a very good sense of self-control. Although being only a couple of decades old, she never succumbed to the human blood lust.

As we talked, we became friends, and Sophia wanted to join our coven, which we preferred to call a family.

Accepting her into the group was an obvious thing to do, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made.

As time wore on, and the world around us changed, we grew to love each other as a proper family would. I even made her a reed necklace, which matched ours – except her reed pipe had no letter on it, instead a simple heart shape.

Corrin and Sophia fell in love after a decade of denying to me of the existence of any feelings. They married within a year of declaring their feelings.

Sophia was as good as a sister to me. Probably better than if I were to compare her to Annalie. Sophia was intent on protecting me, which was the furthest thing on Annalie's mind.

It was strange sometimes, to see her in the protective older sister role, as she was much younger than me, and therefore, I considered her my little sister.

All the times that Corrin went to track Annalie to force some sense into her, Sophia followed in case he needed backup. It always made me nervous to see them go, but I gave up trying to insist otherwise years ago.

Both were fairly stubborn – which made them perfect for each other.

To be honest, I was sometimes jealous of their relationship. I knew it could never happen to me.

Sighing, I replied to their message, asking them to come and visit. As I was logging off, I heard Angela get up, and I knew it was time to get ready for school.

The sunlight was pouring through my bedroom window and I basked briefly in the light. It was warm and my skin glowed dimly. Smiling, I chucked on some clothes and hurried downstairs.

As I scurried around the house, munching on an apple, I hastened to retrieve misplaced books and stationary. I pulled my hair into a messy bun, and ran out to the car.

I could hear Angela tapping her foot in impatience.

We talked about various things once we were in the car. The conversation was relaxed all the way to school.

Today, we actually at school early, having plenty of time before the bell would ring. So while Angela had to go to the office to get a note signed, I lay on the slightly damp grass directly in the path of some warm sunlight.

Rolling up my sleeves, I sighed in content at the warmth of the sun on my skin. For a few minutes I felt like bliss.

But nothing good lasts forever, and a great shadow loomed over me. I bit back a growl when I saw who it was.

Tyler was staring pointedly at my legs, exposed by the shorts I was wearing. I coughed loudly and his head snapped forwards, now looking in my eyes.

"What do you want Tyler?" My voice was weary and I attempted to regain the bliss I felt only moments earlier. Nope. The moment was gone.

As I sat up, I gave Tyler my full attention and nearly laughed at his expression.

Clearly he thought it was an alluring look, but it simply made him look as though he was experiencing pain.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Hurry up and spit it out. What is it?"

He plastered on a cocky expression, and said in a husky voice, "I want to go to the dance with you. Do you want to _come_ with me?" He ended the sentence by wiggling his eyebrows up and down, to emphasise the sexual innuendo.

I snorted and said, "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really do dances." The thought of going with _him_ made me want to gag slightly.

His face was shocked. From what I knew, he was one of the school jocks who never got turned down. Good. He needed his ego to be kept in check.

He scowled and quickly walked away from me.

I laughed quietly as I thought of what Corrin's reaction would be once I told him another boy asked me out. He always went on full big brother mode when random guys asked me out.

Usually he scared the more disgusting ones away, but several have passed his test, only for me to reject them. I could never bond with them, as a relationship is to be built on mutual trust and understanding. Which was something I could never get if I were to keep the secret. It wasn't in my nature to string along guys – especially if I was sure the relationship would fail.

Angela waltzed up to me and whispered, "What was all that about?" Her eyes were following Tyler's retreating figure.

I told her all about it and we shared several jokes at Tyler's expense. Angela agreed with me; she thought he was gross, too.

Throughout the day, I was on the lookout for any vampires, but my assumption on the sun was right. It wasn't as bright as some places I've been to, but it was incredibly sunny for Forks.

It was fantastic. I felt more relaxed at school than I did before.

Sure, I was beginning to like some of them as people, but the bottom line was that they were vampires. Ever since the unjust murder of my parents, the scent of vampire instantly put me on my guard.

There were the occasional old scent markers, but otherwise, nothing.

English ended, and I was making my way to the cafeteria. Before I went inside, I heard the very loud, boastful voice of Mike rising above the babble of voices. I almost disregarded whatever he was saying, until I heard my name thrown into the mix

Curious, I listened harder, "Bella is head over heels for me! Wrapped around my little finger, she is! She begged me to take her to the dance."

I could almost see his little smug smile in my head. My blood began to boil, and I wanted to pummel his face in for spreading such a disgraceful lie.

As I moved to barge in and kill him – figuratively, of course – I realised that I couldn't have heard that if I were a human. _What was I going to do?_

Luck came to me in the form of the quiet Angela Weber. The words out of her mouth made my day.

"Bella is my best friend. She has never mentioned your name in a good light. No offence, but I think she doesn't like you."

"Well, obviously she's trying to hide her affections for me," he replied in a hasty voice. I heard the murmurs of the people surrounding him change from admiring to disbelieving.

Smiling, I continued to listen to Angela. "I've seen her with a boyfriend before, and she wasn't ashamed of it. They kissed in public all the time. So if you want to prove your case, go up and give her a peck on the cheek," she said in a thoughtful tone.

I knew that she was aware of my dislike for Newton, so I think she was setting up Mike to get his ass handed to him. She had seen me kick box before, so she's aware of what I could do.

Everyone assumed Angela to be sweet and shy, but at times she could be truly evil.

I heard Mike's loud gulp. There was a pause. I could tell he was debating the chances of his bluff working, but there really was no choice for him as he boasted so much.

"Fine, I'll do it. No problem," he said in a cocky voice, but I heard a slight undercurrent of nervousness in it.

It was time for my appearance. I walked in through the doors, making a beeline for the salad bar. I had to act like I didn't hear their conversation. I really was looking forward to kicking Mike's butt though.

I hated people who spread rumours.

Hearing a speeding heartbeat come closer to me, I knew instantly that Mike was approaching me.

Keeping my head down as I tossed a salad, I suddenly felt a warm hand slap my ass.

Instinctively I flipped him over and slammed him onto the floor. I pinned his arms behind his back and kneed him in the back.

The smell of blood floated up, and I saw that he was bleeding from his nose. Whoops. I didn't mean to make him bleed. My throat burned faintly.

Human blood never was that appetizing to me.

The entire cafeteria was quiet so they heard everything I said.

"Little twerp, don't ever lay your disgusting hands on me again. Where do you get the right to touch me like that? Learn some respect," I spat at him.

As I got up, he struggled beneath me and said in a gruff voice, "What the hell was that for? Overreact much?"

"You grabbed my ass. If anyone asks, I was merely using self defence," I retorted.

I casually collected my salad and sat next to Angela. I started eating, feeling every eye in the cafeteria on me, but I was too annoyed to care.

Soon the silence was broken by whispers, and then the quiet murmurs turned into the usual babble of voices. Angela turned to me with an awed face.

"You have to teach me some of those moves," she told me matter-of-factly.

"That little jerk. He just came up and groped me! What the hell is his problem?" I put on an angry voice, but, in fact, I was fairly pleased that I got sufficient revenge for his earlier remarks.

Angela had a sheepish expression and she somewhat awkwardly told me, "Well, I sort of told him to do it, but wait!"

She stared at me pleadingly before continuing, "He was bragging you liked him or something, and I knew that wasn't true, so I told him to go and kiss you. I thought he wouldn't do it, and I knew you could protect yourself if he did. Sorry about not giving you a heads up though."

I stared at her before bursting into laughter. "You worry too much. It sounds like he deserved it." I _knew_ he deserved it.

Okay, maybe not the bleeding nose. But the schoolyard embarrassment, he earned.

Angela, Ben, and I chatted animatedly for the rest of lunch. It was so easy to see the connection between those two. I'd have to be more persuasive with Angela in convincing her to ask him out.

Suddenly I felt a presence behind me.

It was Mr. Greene, the school principal. He was not too strict, but had a temper.

"Is it true you assaulted Mr. Newton?" he asked me in a gruff voice. I could see Mike shuffling his feet in his shadow. His nose was already bruising.

The little coward told on me! I wanted to laugh, but it wouldn't do for my role I was about to play. Lying, or _bending the truth_, was as easy as breathing for me nowadays.

Turning my head to quickly wink at Angela and Ben, I broke down into fake sobs.

"Sir, get him away from me!" I pointed at Mike who now had a surprised look on his face. I cringed and shuffled in my seat.

Tears now flowing freely, I spoke in a thick voice, "I was making a salad, when he came from behind and grabbed my ass! I just reacted defensively. He's the one who initiated contact!

"If anyone's to blame, it's him! He sexually assaulted me. It's not my fault I don't like being grabbed by certain strangers. He deluded himself into thinking that I like him – but I don't. He's been harassing me since day one! The entire cafeteria can back me up!"

My speech pattern was interrupted my gasps and sobs. I played my part well.

The principal was interchanging between patting me consolingly on the back and glaring angrily at Mike.

"Are you going to press charges?" Mr. Greene asked.

"Nope," I replied, practically whimpering as I wiped away the tears. "I believe everybody deserves a second chance." My face had my best innocent expression, and the principal believed everything I said.

"Okay then," he told me with a kind face. "You can take the rest of the day off. It seems like you've had enough."

I nodded weakly. He then turned to Mike.

"You are lucky that this girl has such a kind heart. She may not want to punish such disrespectful behaviour, but _I_ certainly will! Detentions for a fortnight, after school hours, of course, might force some manners into you…"

As the principal led Mike further and further away from the table, the less I listened to their conversation. A totally confused Mike glanced back at me, and I smiled brightly at him.

His face turned into disbelieving anger, before it was hidden behind the cafeteria doors.

Angela and I looked at each other for a minute, before we burst into laughter. I hadn't had that much fun in _forever_!

*******

I walked home, whistling all the way. Occasionally, I would begin to chuckle, as I remembered Mike's flabbergasted expression.

It was never my intention for him to get into trouble from a higher authority, but he was the one that tattled, not me.

The forest was so beautiful today. The light made the forest seem as though it was lit up. Greens and browns became more vivid, and the smells of the forest became more crisp and dry since the sun came to shine.

There was nothing awaiting me at home, so I took a detour into the forest. Straying from pathway and into the depths of the forest, I took particular care to memorize everything.

It would be a while before the sun came out again, and I wanted to enjoy every moment.

A slight breeze from the east brought along with it a fresh scent of a vampire. It was Edward's, I think. I wasn't that used to the Cullen's individual scents, so it was still a bit difficult for me to distinguish the difference.

Listening intently, I heard an unnatural creak of a tree branch and the steady breathing of _something_. I would hazard a guess to say that it was a bit bigger than me.

_Was Edward watching me?_

Grinning, I decided to test out my theory. I knew there was an active bear cave somewhere close, up to the north of where I was right now.

I started walking straight in that direction. If he wanted me to move, he'd have to show himself. If there was no one, and it's just me being paranoid, then I'm heading to an early dinner.

A win-win situation, I must say.

I was walking steadily for about five minutes, and I had just about thought that I was going to have a meal, as the wet, sloshing heartbeat of the bear got louder and louder.

This part of the forest was incredibly dark, and I could feel the drop in temperature. I missed the sunlight already.

Then out of what seemed like no-where, Edward Cullen stepped out in front of me. My heartbeat remained steady and my face a mask of indifference. I giggled at his confusion towards my lack of response.

He was dressed in casual clothes, and his amber eyes alight with amusement.

"Ditching school are we? Naughty, naughty," he informed me with a smirk.

"Not ditching. Was sent home. Like you can talk anyway," I told him, looking him up and down.

"My family likes hiking, especially with the good weather. Our good grades allows us leniency from the school," he paused, cocking his head to the side as he stared intently at my face.

"What do you mean by "_sent home_"? And why have you been crying?" His voice changed from a joking banter to a concerned tone.

I shrugged and said casually, "Mike got a little too touchy feely for me. I acted out in self-defence – you know, kickboxing. He definitely didn't expect that." I smiled widely at the memory.

"Explain. More in detail if that's possible," his voice rang with authority.

Rolling my eyes, I told him, "It's a long story, and you'd hear about it tomorrow at school anyway."

"But that doesn't really explain what you are doing here in the middle of the forest. Are you lost?" he enquired.

"I could ask you the same thing, you know," I replied, raising an eyebrow.

He paused, and then deftly changed the subject. "May I accompany you home?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll just keep heading this way. I love _sunny_ days, it makes everything so much more… beautiful," I said waving my hand vaguely at the scenery.

"Do you know there is a bear cave a couple hundred metres in front of you?"

"So?" I shrugged.

"It's a bear, so shouldn't you be terrified that you could have been eaten or something? Isn't that a normal human reaction?" His tone questioned my sanity.

Scowling, I retorted, "I never said I was a _normal_ _human_. Who defines normal anyway? But to make you keep quiet, I'll turn around."

I turned around in a huff, only to trip on a root that I didn't notice earlier.

Cold arms wrapped swiftly around my waist, preventing me from suffering a nosedive. I blushed and quickly untangled myself from his grip.

"Whoops, my bad," I told him, blushing red all the while. Damn it; I could control my heartbeat, but never my telltale blush.

He was grinning like an idiot, and looked as though he was holding back laughter. Poking my tongue out at him in a childish manner, I walked off back the way I came.

"Bella, are you sure you're not going to get lost?" He was smirking like he thought I would definitely get lost.

"I never get lost. But if I do, I'll give you a shout," I told him as we waved goodbyes.

"Wait, Bella. What's that scar on your neck?" His eyes were zoned in on a bite Annalie gave me. I knew he recognized it immediately. You couldn't _not_ recognise it if you were a vampire.

My hand flew up to cover it and I hastily replied; "I've had it for ages. Don't give it a second thought. Got to run, bye!"

I could hear his footsteps retreating from me, but I knew he'd be back to check up on me. It was easy to find my way back; I just had to follow _my_ scent trails.

I briefly entertained the notion of getting lost on purpose, just for him to come and rescue me. But I shouldn't get more involved than absolutely necessary.

That promise was getting harder and harder to keep.

Sighing, I decided to detour to the grocery shops before I headed home.

*******

**EPOV**

As I watched Bella walk away from me, I knew she'd get lost.

I decided to stay within hearing range, which was a reasonable distance, considering my unnatural abilities.

I thought back through our conversation. Today was sunny, and because of that, we had to all skip school.

It annoyed me that I wouldn't be able to talk or see Bella for the entire day. But I put the time to good use, and went hunting.

After midday, it came as a surprise to see Bella whistling and walking through the forest. I watched her wandering around, wondering what she was doing.

_If only_ I could see into her mind, so I could unravel her many secrets.

From a tall tree's branches, I kept a wary eye on her. _Was she lost?_

Suddenly she froze. Pausing, I considered the chances of her knowing I was here. I concluded it to be unlikely.

Her face pulled into a huge grin, and started heading north. Always watching her, I hoped that she'd change direction soon – there was a bear she'd definitely encounter coming up in a few minutes.

Bella had no clue that the bear was there, so she didn't stop. It seemed like she was really enjoying the sunny weather.

Every time her skin hit a ray of sunlight, her skin would seem like it was glowing, and she would smile. Every time she smiled, I lost my breath.

She was beautiful.

This really highlighted the difference between us. She could enjoy the sun, for surely she was no less than an angel. But I was a deadly creature of the night, hiding in the shadows.

I was not good enough to even be called her friend.

The bear was just a couple hundred metres away now. I had to show myself before exposing what I was to her – by fighting off a bear.

Luckily, she walked right through a dark patch of forest. Walking in her path, it would seem as though I appeared out of nowhere.

Bella was incredible. She didn't scream or anything. Her heart rate was steady, and looked at me with a mildly interested expression. Her chocolate brown eyes were sparkling with amusement.

It was like in the bookstore. On a side note, I wondered if I'd ever be able to scare or startle her. I was happy that I didn't seem to though.

After some playful banter on why we were here, some dim light broke through the canopy, hitting and illuminating her face, reflecting off tear tracks I didn't notice earlier.

I was really concerned as to why she was crying. When I asked her about it, she broke into a huge grin and gave me a vague description on what happened. She told me I would get the full story at school.

She mentioned she could kick box, which explained her interest in the martial arts books in the bookstore.

When I informed her on the imminent location of a bear, she shrugged and waved it off, like it didn't matter.

I wanted to gawk at her. She was so… different. Any other human, if I were to tell them the same information, would probably run away screaming.

_But she might not be a human._

Bella got annoyed at a comment I made, and as she stormed off tripped on a tree root.

I caught her before she fell, and felt the warmth shoot through me once more.

She blushed red, and I thought it made her more beautiful. And that was where we parted ways.

But before we left each other, I noticed a pale white crescent shaped scar on her neck. If she were a vampire, I would say another vampire gave it to her.

No human could get out of a bite as a mortal. _So what was she?_

There was always a slight chance that it was coincidental, perhaps occurring from a cut she received as a child. It was highly unlikely however.

Now, I was watching Bella make her way out of the forest with amazing ease. She got out of the trees incredibly fast.

Hmm, she was right about never getting lost.

I headed back; now that I knew she was safe. I could hear Bella's sweet whistling float up towards me.

It almost made want to stay, but it was getting late, and Esme would worry if I stayed away from the family for too long.

As I ran, I thought.

I felt… protective over Bella. I thought she was beautiful. She was smart and funny.

I knew I liked her. But the problem was that even if she returned those feelings, it was doubtful we could be together.

If she were a human, once she learned of my… affliction, she'd certainly run away screaming.

If she were something else entirely… well, I don't know _I_'d react in that situation.

Why is my life so complicated?

*******

**BPOV**

Tuesday was a good day, albeit the heavy rain. My red blouse was drenched, and all I did was walk from the house to the car.

Mike was glaring daggers at me at every chance, but in truth he should be blaming himself. His nose was heavily bruised. I felt a bit sorry for that accidental damage.

Only a bit.

I was in English, and the bell rang for lunch when Alice hurriedly ran up to and squeaked out, "Oh Bella! Nice one on Mike! Wished I were there to see that! Come sit with at my table this lunch. Feel free to invite Angela!"

After saying all this at an incredibly fast pace, she pranced off. I was left with a stunned expression on my face.

Angela bumped into me at the lockers and I asked if she wanted to join.

Her face was slightly uncomfortable, "Well, I kind of wanted to sit with Ben…"

My face lit up as I said, "Brilliant! With some time _alone_, you guys might make some headway. You must tell me all about it at home, okay?"

She smiled at me and we walked to the cafeteria together, splitting up at the doors.

I walked over to the Cullen table and sat myself next to Alice. I pulled out a chicken sandwich I made at home and began eating.

The rest of the Cullen clan filed in through the doors with a variety of expressions on their faces.

Edward was smiling, but slightly confused.

The big burly one, Emmett, he was grinning from ear to ear.

The tall, lean one, with shaggy blonde hair reminded me of Corrin a bit. I assumed him to be Jasper. His demeanour was protective. He re-enforced this by wrapping an arm around Alice's waist.

I wanted to roll my eyes. As if I'd attack with an entire cafeteria full of witnesses. All the humans were whispering at my new seating arrangement.

Lastly, a beautiful blonde with a haughty face – easily recognisable as Rosalie – was staring angrily at me. She looked at me like I killed her cat.

Alice gave out brief unnecessary introductions, in which we all smiled or nodded our head in acknowledgement.

I thought it'd be a good idea to make a little bit of conversation.

"Are none of you guys hungry?" I asked as I pointed to the empty spaces in front of them. I knew they didn't eat, but I wanted to hear what their excuse was.

"Nah, we don't eat cafeteria food, it looks disgusting," Emmett replied. He was flexing his muscles and bearing his teeth in an attempt to scare me. I assumed it was a test of sorts.

I smiled brightly at him and said, "Never judge a book by its cover."

He smiled in turn. It seems he was pleased that I didn't frighten easily. If only they knew what it took to scare me…

There was a brief awkward pause, in which I ate some of my sandwich. I turned to see Rosalie staring angrily at me.

Her look put on the defensive, so I snapped at her, "What's your problem? Never seen a sandwich before or something?"

She looked affronted and looked away. Alice grinned at me.

Rolling my eyes, I looked closely at Jasper for the first time. His skin was bumpy.

That's strange. Vampire skin is meant to be flawless…

Looking closer I saw there were bite marks covering most of his skin. I gasped in shock. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. How did he survive so many vampires?

I had only a few scars – mainly on my wrists and neck. But he had an unbelievable amount. There weren't many excuses for that number of bite marks…

No one noticed my staring, luckily. They were all looking in different directions. If they want to blend in with a crowd of humans, they should at least _act_ normal.

Emmett suddenly turned to me and said, "Is it true you gave Mike that broken nose?"

I looked up in surprise, "It's broken? Whoops, my bad... I actually didn't aim to break anything..."

Emmett hooted in laughter, in which the rest of the table, excluding Rosalie followed suit. I smiled and Jasper turned to me.

"What exactly did he do?" asked Jasper.

"Well, he came up to me and grabbed me from behind. Too bad for him that he didn't know that I am a master at martial arts," I told them.

"What types of martial arts are you familiar in?" Edward asked.

Thinking before answering, I replied, "All. Not to brag, but its true. Everyone needs to be able to protect him or herself. My older brother was especially paranoid that I was going to get hurt, so he introduced me to the concept.

"That's why guys who try to touch me often end up worse for wear. They assume I'm a little weak girl, so it's easy to turn their own strength against them. I can give a demonstration if you want."

Rosalie gave a strange look, as though she understood the need for someone to protect himself or herself. Before I could look into it more, Emmett said, "Hell yes, but I bet you can't bring _me _down."

"Is that a challenge?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Why yes, it is, Bella." He had a huge grin on his face. I couldn't wait to show him what I could do.

Pausing, I tilted my head and appraised him. I could take him. "You're on."

Edward intervened, "Emmett, I don't think that's such a fabulous idea..."

I waved off his concern with a flap of my hands. "Edward, I've dealt with worse. And it wasn't a dare when I faced him."

Edward looked right at me and said, "Emmett is a lot stronger than he looks. Better not risk it."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Sure, sure, whatever you say, _Mom_."

Conversation was easy after that; even Rosalie was more civil towards me. We had a brief conversation on cars; spending time with Corrin gave me more insight into a car's engine that I really needed.

Jasper and I shared a love of history. He was very polite, and his southern accent made me think of the vampire wars of the south. My dad told me horrible stories about those battles. If he was a participant in those bloody battles, that _might_ just explain the damage. But I was still unsure.

Emmett just seemed to like me in general. He asked simple questions on my life, but I was careful to avoid answering any that were directly connected to my parents. It was still painful to talk about them aloud.

Edward chatted to me casually like everyone else did. I was feeling quite at ease here.

Suddenly Alice straightened up and said to me, "You know what would an awesome idea? A sleepover this weekend!"

I stared incredulously at her. Rosalie didn't seem to oppose the idea, but she wasn't exactly jumping for joy.

Cautiously, I asked, "What do _your_ sleepovers involve?"

"Makeovers, shopping, girl talk. You know, the usual," she replied in a bubbly voice. "We can go get dresses for the upcoming dance!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not going to the dance. I hate dances. Anyway, I don't think I should come to your sleepover. My sleeping habits won't exactly benefit anyone." I was referring to the fact I always woke up screaming.

"Pfft, no one in my family sleeps much," she informed me.

Duh, they're vampires.

"I wouldn't mind coming over, but I am _not_ sleeping over, okay?" Alice didn't seem to be paying attention. She had a blank look on her face. I kicked her under the table.

"Earth to Alice, did you hear me?" I waved my hand over her eyes.

"Err, yes. That'll be fine!" She resumed the role of her bright bubbly self.

I was suspicious at the lack of fight, but we made plans for the weekend regardless. The bell rang and we all left for our respective classes.

I really hoped I wouldn't regret agreeing to this.

*******

**APOV**

Bella was fitting it nicely with the group. Even Rosalie warmed up to her. A bit.

She wasn't keen on the sleepover idea, but I had a brief vision of an overnight hailstorm that will surely prevent her from going back home.

So my wish of a sleepover will come true anyway!

Edward scowled at me, disapproving of my plans to trick Bella to stay over. He didn't intervene or warn her though.

I wondered what she meant by having a bad sleeping habit…

*******

**A/N: Did you like that? The "**_**Mike gets his ass kicked**_**" scene is one I have wanted to write for a long time. The character just irritates the hell out of me.**

**Sophia and Corrin will me making an appearance ... but not in the very near future.**

**The Cullen family still are unaware of what Bella is. But they know something is up with her.**

**Brownies **_**and**_** cookies for staying with this story!**


	5. Stormy Night

**A/N: I'm amazed at how many people enjoyed Mike being brought down a notch. It made me grin to see the responses I got. Thanks for that everyone!**

**The sleepover was very annoying for me to write. There were so many different endings I wrote, but this came out on top.**

**I hope it came up to your expectations, but if not, just PM me with details. There's definitely a scene there that will make people pissed. *Laughs*.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, and I hate hearing people whine about how they wished they owned it. Personally, I'm happy with writing this; people have to be happy with what they have.**

*******

**BPOV**

The rest of the school week had been quite enjoyable. I was no longer alone in my English and Biology classes; I always had someone friendly to talk to. I kept the relationship between Edward and I as friendly as possible. It wouldn't be wise for me to pursue anything more.

Sometimes it was harder than others. Like when I heard him talk so passionately about his music, or when he joked around with his brothers. Actually, who was I kidding? It was hard _all_ the time, and it was progressively getting harder.

My façade, however, was flawless. Heartbeat, expression, breathing pattern, all were in check around Edward and his coven. The only tell tale sign were the blushes. Usually they happened when Edward caught me in gym, or anywhere else when I was inherently clumsy.

Pretty much everywhere, actually.

I wasn't sure how much of it was my natural clumsiness at a human pace, and how much was due to the fact I liked Edward's arms wrapped around me. Probably more of the latter.

It was getting more and more difficult to keep the concept of them being _vampires_ in my mind. Sometimes, when we talked and joked around, they seemed almost human.

Lunchtimes interchanged between me sitting at the Cullen's table, or sitting with Angela and Ben.

The two clueless lovebirds really needed a helping hand. They were too shy for their own good. I kept dropping hints to Ben to ask Angela out.

Although I liked sitting with them, the others at the table were incredibly annoying. Jessica had quizzed me endlessly on the Cullens as I was "in" with them. I always just repeated the well-known facts about them and refused to divulge any more personal information.

Tyler was continuously winking at me and making sexual innuendos. I wanted to give him the same treatment I had given Mike when he got a little fresh with me. Luckily for him, I had enough self-control. But I guess I could always slip…

Speaking of Mike, he seemed very sullen and ignored me as much as possible. Which, of course, was fine with me. Lauren seemed unhappy as usual. I just brushed it off – it was no chip off my shoulder.

In comparison, the Cullen table was very enjoyable. I seemed to have quite a bit in common with all of them. Alice was going out of her mind with excitement at the upcoming "girls' day out" this Saturday. Angela was invited as well, and it seemed like a good time for us to bond as a group.

Today was Friday, and I was currently laughing at a rude joke Emmett had just told me. His mind was always in the gutter, I swear.

A light tapping on my shoulder alerted me to the presence of Angela. She'd sat with the Cullens once, and enjoyed the experience, but preferred to get more acquainted with Ben.

She didn't even attempt to deny her crush on Ben nowadays. She and Ben were getting incredibly close and it wouldn't be long until one of them asked the other out.

"Bella, I need to talk to you!" She was practically squeaking with excitement, her face alight with happiness. I had a pretty good idea of what may have happened to cause such happiness from Angela.

After saying my goodbyes to the Cullens, I walked with Angela outside into the courtyard. I was getting impatient with her; I wished she would just spit it out already...

"You'll never guess what happened! Ben asked me out on a date this Saturday! Apparently, he's liked me from the moment we met! Who would have guessed?"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm and blindness. Anyone could see the infatuation shining from Ben's eyes when he was with her. You had to be blind _not_ to. And even then you could probably hear the way they spoke to one another.

We spent the rest of the lunchtime talking. Angela was apologetic that she had to bail this Saturday, but I was fine with it. I was actually relieved that they were finally going out. It seemed like it had taken forever for them to get to this point.

I had rarely seen Angela this buoyant. It was nice to see her so happy. She'd been a little downcast lately about her grandmother, who was recovering nicely, but still ill all the same.

On the car trip home, Angela could not shut up about Ben, but I was happy for her. She was worrying over what she should wear, and how she should do her hair.

I'd never seen her this nervous about a date. I kept boosting her ego with wonderful comments about her looks and everything. But she was still fussing over what she was to wear, as apparently there were no T-shirts perfect for the occasion.

Without delay, I remembered that I had bought a new dark green blouse last weekend that would be perfect for her. She was roughly that same size as me, so sharing clothes was a common thing between us.

Pulling her from the car, we ran up to my room, and I showed her what I thought she should wear. She jumped up and down with excitement, and for the rest of the night, we talked about the most random things, Angela bursting into random grins as she pictured the upcoming day.

"Oh no, I was meant to give you a lift at noon to the Cullen house, but Ben wants me for the entire day, he's picking me up at ten." With this her eyes glazed over a bit, but she held on to her concern with me.

"Nah, I'll call Alice for a lift. Just concentrate on enjoying the day with Ben." I smiled widely at her.

A little after eleven at night, she decided to head off to bed. I was about to follow, but Corrin called. He really had no concept of different time zones.

I talked to both Sophia and Corrin. It seemed they had nearly captured Annalie, but she had escaped just in time and were headed toward Germany. It was so nice to hear from them that I talked to them for hours.

It unnerved me that they really didn't get a chance to see her, but they did grab her scent enough to know she was there. Her style wasn't usually so … cat and mouse-like. She generally liked mind games or forcing a showdown to occur. But I pushed all this out of my mind. People changed, and Annalie had changed so much from when we were younger.

They told me of the beauty of monuments they'd visited. And then described the different people they'd met. Apparently, there was an interesting Italian fellow who wouldn't stop hitting on Sophia. Corrin was really mad, so the Italian fellow was lucky that he eventually got the message to back off.

They missed me heaps, and hinted at a chance for another visit. I considered telling them of the coven that lived in such close range to me, but I feared Corrin and Sophia would drag me out of Forks by my ears. They would have thought I was crazy for befriending the vampires instead of taking the safer option of avoidance.

I never believed I'd say this, but Forks was beginning to grow on me.

When we said our goodbyes, I noticed the time. It was seven in the morning. Wow, being an immortal really screws up your concept of time.

A shuffling noise upstairs alerted me to Angela's presence. I had made her some waffles as she got ready. I had hoped I'd be able to get some sleep after I was completed with breakfast, but Angela had other plans.

It really wasn't her fault. I had promised to help her out, and she didn't keep me up all hours of the night. Damn Corrin.

I spent a while fixing her hair and makeup as she babbled nervously.

Tilting her chin up, so she could look me in the eye, I assured her, "Ben likes you for you. I wish I had a guy like that. Breathe. Calm down."

She calmed down, but had a surprised look on her face. "What do you mean by you_ wish _you had someone who had a thing for you? Edward's your guy."

Scoffing, I replied, "He doesn't see me like that, and neither do I."

"Sure you don't..." She said before rolling her eyes. "And you call me blind..." she added under her breath.

The doorbell rang, causing Angela to panic a little. Rubbing her back as she walked down the stairs, I managed to calm her down somewhat so that she didn't combust when she opened the door for Ben.

As they saw each other, their eyes lit up and big grins appeared on their faces. It seems like they had forgotten about me already.

I was right; the dark green blouse looked beautiful on Angela. Whispering, "Good luck!" I gently pushed her out the door and into the awaiting arms of Ben.

There was no time for me to have a nap as I had to get ready for my day out with Alice.

A quick shower and brushing of my teeth was all the time I had. Leaving my hair down, I walked downstairs to wait for Alice to pick me up.

I didn't have to wait long. My feet had just hit the bottom step when the doorbell rang loud and clear for the second time today.

Opening the door, Alice immediately pulled me into the car and sat me down in the back seat. I noticed Rosalie in the front seat.

She gave me a brief smile. I knew we weren't the best of friends, but she now found my presence tolerable. "Ready for the workout of your life?" she asked me while raising an eyebrow.

Grinning, I replied, "Sure!"

The drive to Seattle was long, but fun. We talked of random things, mainly Alice and Rosalie argued on what to do with me. Some of their ideas scared me.

Alice was ecstatic to the point of near insanity. She forced me into many shops that I usually would not have step foot in_. Victoria's Secret_ was a prime example. And if I refused to buy anything that "suited me", Alice would whip out a credit card and buy it before I could protest. Then they'd use the guilt card into making me take it.

It was apparent that Rosalie was on Alice's side with the miniskirt debate.

"Bella, you should flaunt what you have!" Rosalie told me in a smug voice.

Rolling my eyes, I told her, "I will. In shorts though, thank you very much. Skirts are no better than a wide, flimsy circle of material. Some even look like belts!" I shuddered as I pointed to an extremely short one, which left little to the male imagination.

Alice pouted and said, "Skirts are great. You shouldn't be so scared of them."

"I'm not scared of them! I just don't want to give a public show of my knickers to the world! So thanks, but no thanks."

"Come on! Owning a few won't hurt you!" Rosalie almost ordered me.

"Sorry, but wearing them makes me feel… what's the right word… I don't know… horribly _self-conscious_?" I told them.

We argued back and forth, but eventually I gained the upper hand. Clothes, for me, had to serve their purpose of covering oneself up.

As we walked out of what seemed like the hundredth shop we had visited today, I practically had to beg for a lunch break. Vampires may not get crabby and hungry, but I was part human, so I sure did.

It was late, a little after five o'clock as we sat down for a very late lunch. Rosalie and Alice sat opposite me, not eating anything obviously. They were impatient for me to finish my burger, but I was in no rush.

They were in deep conversation about their boyfriends, until Alice casually turned to me and asked, "Bella, are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

I was in the middle of taking a gulp of my drink at the time of the question. It caught me off guard, causing me to cough and splutter a bit.

Once I resurfaced from the fit, I replied hastily, "No, no. What gave you that idea?"

Alice patted my back and said, "Well, to be honest, it's because you haven't pulled a move on Edward yet."

I snorted and said dryly, "What? Is he meant to be some kind of Adonis that girls must flock to?"

Rolling my eyes, I continued eating my burger and watched their responses.

"No, it's because there is definitely chemistry between you two! You have so much in common, and there are moments where it looks like you are lost in your own little world!" Alice informed me eagerly.

"I'll have to agree with Alice there. You and Edward have a connection," inserted Rosalie dryly.

These girls were perceptive. They were right on my part. But Edward – surely he didn't have any feelings regarding me outside the realms of friendship. Maybe not even that.

He could just be trying to wheedle information out of me. After all, they say you lure more bees with honey, rather than dark looks and harsh words.

Deciding on the spot that I wouldn't divulge any information on the crush I had for Edward – one that would hopefully disappear soon – I turned to them and looked them both in the eye.

In a level voice I said, "Nope, I like your brother as a friend and nothing more."

Their reply was in a tone no human would hear and thus prevented me from retaliating.

"Denial," they muttered simultaneously.

*******

Before Alice dropped me off home, she wanted me to spend some time at her house. She pulled out the saddest face, and it nearly broke my heart. I couldn't say no to that. Well, maybe I could, but going over to her house wouldn't kill me… I think.

Sometimes I was such a pushover.

Her house was beautiful. It was a gorgeous two-story mansion that was surrounded by the forest. The walls were white and were partially covered by flowering vines. There was definitely a waterfall nearby – I could hear it somewhere to the east of where I was standing.

"Hello? Where is everyone?" Rosalie asked Alice.

"Oh, they went hunt- I mean, they went _hiking_. They'll be back soon enough," she corrected herself midway when Rosalie cleared her throat rather loudly. I pretended not to have noticed her slip.

We walked inside and Rosalie and Alice dropped off their purchases in their respective rooms. I left mine in the car, as I would be going home soon enough.

The weather was getting steadily worse. The hairs on my neck stood on end; a clear indication that a bad storm was approaching.

Chatting quietly in the living room, I heard the front door click open and the accompanying babble of voices of who I assumed to be Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Carlisle and Esme.

They all walked into the living room and their eyes zoned in on me immediately. The guys were wearing what could pass for hiking attire. But Esme, a young looking vampire with a heart-shaped face, however, was wearing a white knee length dress.

I smiled a huge smile, which I usually found to disarm people. It worked. Carlisle – a very handsome vampire I must admit – looked slightly surprised at my reaction.

Rolling my eyes wasn't exactly possible at the moment, but I wanted to. I could burn this entire gathering if they attempted any kind of attack. It'd take effort, but I guess if my life was at stake, I could pull it off. Of course, I wasn't scared of them in _that_ way.

Nervous at meeting my friends and crush's parents – that would be a definite yes.

"Bella, it's a pleasure to meet you." Esme's sweet voice tinkled down towards me. It felt sincere and brought another smile to my face.

"As it is to meet both of you," I replied smoothly. "Dr. Cullen and Mrs. Cullen."

I held out my hand for them to shake. Carlisle moved to grasp my hand, but was stopped when Emmett butted in and grabbed my hand and shook it like he was an old friend and we hadn't seen one another in years.

"Spiffing, smashing, absolutely wonderful to see you, Bella," he told me in a fake English accent.

I couldn't hold back my laughter and soon we were all laughing at Emmett's antics. It was nice of him to find a way to break the ice.

"Bella, I insist you call me Carlisle," said the good doctor.

His wife nodded and said, "I also insist you call me Esme."

I nodded my head to show them that I agreed, and was about to say something, when my words were cut off by a clash of lightning. The thundering sound caused my ears to ache slightly.

Looking out the window, I saw that what _was_ predicted to be light rains, actually turned out to be a hailstorm. A very strong hailstorm, by the look of things.

"Ooh, look at the weather. Seems too dangerous for anyone to drive in," Alice piped in.

I nodded my head absentmindedly. Then I stiffened as it sunk into me what that meant.

"It looks like you'll have to spend the night with us," said Esme kindly.

Nodding and smiling blandly, I was panicking on the inside.

Sleeping in a houseful of vampires would leave me defenceless. Not to mention my usual screaming after the nightmares.

Oh _joy_.

*******

I couldn't argue my way out of it. The logic was undeniable. Large hailstones were intermittently hitting the roof, and I knew driving in these conditions would be unthinkable for a human.

Damn it, I wasn't even human! But I couldn't tell them that…

My sleeping arrangements were finalized after I called Angela and told her what was happening.

She was a little disappointed, as she was dying to tell me all about the date in person, but she didn't want me to get hurt in the weather. So we chatted on the phone for a good forty-five minutes before I had to hang up.

Walking up to Alice's bedroom – my room to sleep in – I realized that I had no pyjamas. As I opened my mouth to voice these concerns, Alice came whizzing down the steps and threw me a set of silk pyjamas to wear. Without a word, she disappeared.

Blue silk shorts with a matching sleeveless top weren't something I usually wore to bed, but I was in no situation to be picky. There was some apprehension due to the fact that my scars could be seen easily, but a little foundation on top of them seemed to help a bit, but then again, vampire's eyesight was extraordinary. Hopefully no one would comment or pick up on it.

Alice was also kind enough to get me a towel and a toothbrush, so I had a shower and changed. The warm water from the shower was soothing and comforting. I was tired, but in no rush to sleep.

It was getting close to seven at night, so I rummaged through the fridge for something to eat, when I heard a slight rustling behind me. Then I smelt him.

Edward was trying to scare me again. I could hear every breath and every step. And then he grabbed my shoulders in a lightening fast movement. His hands were colder than the air emitted from the fridge.

I chuckled. My physical responses didn't even stutter. "Nice try, Edward. How many times do I have to say it takes more than _that _to scare me?"

"So what are you doing?" he asked in a quiet voice. He was wearing blue and white striped pyjamas. They looked new; I bet the family was only wearing them because of me, to look the part of a human getting ready for bed.

I turned around and continued my rummaging. "I'm looking for a snack. I don't like dinner, just a snack… Aha!" I held out the can of chocolate whipped cream in triumph.

Everything in the fridge had recent use-by dates, probably purchased recently, again for appearances' sake.

"May I?" I asked Edward, pointing the can towards my mouth.

He nodded, "Be my guest… Although, I guess you are." He chuckled as I pressed some in my mouth.

"Mmm…" It was really good stuff. Edward was looking at me with a weird expression on his face.

I licked my lips as I heard Alice yell in a singsong voice, "Bella, come to the living room now!"

Walking slowly, carrying with me my can of chocolate whipped cream, I felt apprehensive as I made my way to where Alice was tapping her foot impatiently.

Squirting another bit of cream into my mouth, I looked at Alice with questioning eyes.

"Come on, Bella! I have a tonne of things we have to do before you go to bed!" Alice grabbed my arm and led me up the staircase. I turned to look back at Edward, who gave me an apologetic expression.

"Alice," I chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd been planning this for ages."

Alice didn't say anything, but her silence was oddly guilty. Why would she be guilty? She can't control the weather.

I was roughly led into Alice's room, and I plopped on the bed. Stretching my limbs, I noticed how soft the bed was. _Why was this bed so soft…?_ I thought to myself.

Then I remembered that Alice and Jasper was a couple and I scrunched up my face up at the onslaught of bad mental images that flooded into my head.

"Alice…" I said, but I paused, wondering if I was being rude. But I just had to know.

"Yeah?" Her attention was diverted as she was trying to get a curling iron from a shelf a tad too high for her.

"Please tell me you changed the sheets. I don't really want to come across any… stains during the course of the night," I told her in an embarrassed voice.

Alice turned around with a smirk on her face. Emmett was on the ground floor when I heard his laugh; he had apparently been eavesdropping in on our conversation.

"Don't fret Bella, I changed the sheets." After informing me this, I let out a sigh of relief.

We joked around for a few hours, Rosalie joining us somewhere during that time. After a few hours, Alice decided it was time for a movie. Rosalie and Alice chose_ The Phantom of the Opera_. I had seen it already, but I liked it.

Of course, I was the only one who had popcorn. I wanted more chocolate whipped cream, but they only had one can. The plasma television in Alice's room was huge! We got comfortable on her bed and began to watch.

The guys eventually came in and joined us. As they cuddled up to their respective girlfriends, it left Edward to sit next to me. I leaned into his touch, but kept my attentions focused on the movie. I had thought that sitting like this would be awkward, but it really wasn't. In fact it was fairly comfortable, even if he was kind of cold. There was a kind of tingle, a sort of current running between us. I liked it.

There was a moment when I thought that I saw Jasper's eyes dart to my neck, lingering for a fraction of a second on a part of my neck I knew had a scar. But I used the rarely seen optimistic side of me and I brushed it off. My scars were covered with foundation. Maybe he was just thirsty. _And that was such a better goal to hope for, wasn't it?_ I thought sarcastically.

As I watched the movie, I began to notice odd similarities between Edward and the Phantom. They were both geniuses, musically and in other areas too. They both lived in beautiful homes. Both had money, both were pale, both were kind of bossy, both liked to kill... but Edward and his honey-tinted eyes seemed incline that he stuck to animals rather than humans. And I would say both of them could be classified as monsters. And their voices were amazing.

My mouth pulled into a grin as I made each discovery. I must have looked odd, as my facial features didn't match the intense scenes of the movie. Just after the masquerade dance scene I realized I couldn't hold my giggles and began to laugh uncontrollably.

Everyone stared at me as though I was mentally handicapped, and I guess with the way I was acting, it could come off that way. The movie was at an intense point and I was laughing at it. Rosalie looked more annoyed than concerned, but Emmett was the mirror opposite; he was grinning, trying in vain to see what was so funny.

"What's the big deal Bella?" he asked me.

I really didn't want to voice my real reason, so I lied and said, "Oh, it's just that I've seen this movie before and ever since I can't watch it without laughing." I finished with a glazed look across my face – so it looked as though I was remembering something.

They were persistent in trying to find out what "happened", but I stayed quiet. Even after a round of torture – which consisted of the guys pinning me down as the girls tickled me – I kept my lips sealed.

Deciding that my presence was not needed for the rest of the movie, I excused myself and decided to check out the rest of the house. Walking into the first door from the hallway, I found myself in a beautiful room with several various instruments lying about. From looking around, I could tell the room was soundproofed and had great acoustics.

I sat down at the piano and ghosted my fingers over the ivory keys. A few lessons over my lifetime enabled me to play some songs, but I was no more than a novice to the piano and any other instrument. It was more in my nature to listen to music than to play and perform it.

A creak from the doorway made me turn around and see Edward leaning on the door frame, giving me a gorgeous lop sided grin. He ran a hand through his already tousled bronze hair and he walked toward me, sitting down beside me.

"Admiring my piano are you? Can you play?" he asked quietly, his eyes burning into mine.

Turning away with cheeks painted red, I hurriedly replied, "Err, yes. It's so pretty. I didn't know that this was yours though. Personally, I can perform a few songs, but I'm not that good. Can you play?"

"Oh I can play – just a bit," he told me, winking as he stretched his long fingers over the keys.

And then he began to play. It was beyond words. The music filled the room – I was right about the good acoustics. His hands were precise and careful over the keys, and I didn't hear a single mistake fall through the cracks. The song was heartfelt and filled with so many different emotions…

When he finished, I realized my eyes were watering. As I wiped them away, I complimented Edward, "That was... just beautiful. You really shouldn't be so modest; some warning would have been nice!" I playfully teased him.

All of a sudden we were incredibly close, his face inches from mine. His cold breath hit my face, and I noticed it was quite a sweet smell. Close enough to kiss... I snapped out of my train of thought. _If_ there was going to be a time, now was not it.

I bet he didn't even want to kiss me. A strong wave of disappointed swelled within my body, but I knew that if I were to kiss him, things would probably get awkward between us. He surely could not return the feelings I felt for him. Turning away was for the best.

So I reluctantly turned away from him and asked where the others were. He informed me of their relocation to the entertainment area. Apparently we were all going to play pool. His voice held something... sadness? Disappointment? I'll bet it was just my out of control imagination again. I was hoping that things wouldn't get weird after the close encounter.

We left the music room and headed down to the entertainment area together. Edward had begun to talk about the instruments he knew how to play, and the atmosphere was light once more.

*******

The rest of the night was really fun. Jasper and Emmett thought it would be funny to drop a tarantula down my shirt and scare me. But it didn't. I'd liked tarantulas ever since I saw Corrin cry because he squashed one by accident. He was devastated that he couldn't keep it as a pet.

In fact, the guys got in more trouble by their girlfriends, than by me. I sat in the background happily playing with my new friend, and the girls were yelling at the guys for "ruining my night". They looked so sad and downtrodden, so I asked the girls to give it a break. I had released the spider back into the forest.

It was a little after one o'clock in the morning, but I felt fairly awake. Regardless of the fact I hadn't slept in two days, I was feeling a hundred percent functional. But I knew it would not last long. Esme asked several times if I needed to sleep, and every time I just shrugged and politely declined.

Corrin would have some smart-ass theory as to why I was so wide-awake. I would put it down to the concentration of vampire scents in the air. I would hazard a guess and say it put my body on guard – no matter how relaxed and happy I felt on the outside. My subconscious was a hard thing to argue with.

But even with my instincts to stay alert, I knew I was tiring rapidly. Soon I'd have to succumb to sleep.

We were all currently lounging in the living room, chatting quietly of vague subjects and listening to the raging storm outside. I winced at the larger clashes of lightening; the sounds hurt my ears a bit.

Alice and Jasper were looking _very_ comfortable on the love seat together, and their intimate position matched that of Rosalie and Emmett. Edward and I were sitting at a respectful distance apart, but we were in a heated argument, once again, on books.

The two groups of love birds excused themselves, and I tried not to think of what they were about to do. I had nothing against it, but it wasn't fun to think of what your friends do behind closed doors. The room began to get blurry and I noticed just how warm the couch was. I lent back for a second, I just wanted to close my eyes…

As I opened them, I wasn't in the living room. There was a forest surrounding me and I was running towards some purple-black smoke. I felt a pang in my stomach as I recognized the nightmare / memory. The strange thing was that I knew I was asleep, and this was all in my head. But I couldn't wake up. _Wake up, wake up, wake up_! I shouted in my head. There was nothing I could do though.

As I was almost at the edge of the opening where my parents were killed, I felt myself being lightly shaken awake. That was different.

I saw Edward looking at me with panic and concern in his eyes. Soon as he realized I was awake, he let me go and pulled me into his arms gently. Leaning into him, he had taken that as a silent gesture to hug me tighter. It was a bit tighter than a human could deal with, but I liked the way it made me feel – safe.

There was water on my cheeks and I realized belatedly that I must have been crying in my sleep. Sighing, I hugged Edward back, inhaling his scent. My entire body was still shaken from the close encounter with the scene of my parents' death. Imaginary or not, it felt as real as day.

Nearly every night I had to relive that terrible day. Why did I waste energy hoping that tonight could've been the exception?

"Are you okay? You were thrashing around a bit, muttering, "Wake up!" over and over again," he whispered in my ear. The breath from his voice tickled my ear, and I shuddered lightly.

"I'm fine, just a dream and nothing more…" I mumbled back. His hold on me was incredibly comfortable and I felt sleepy once more. Remembering what was awaiting me in the land of dreams, I snapped wide-awake.

Looking around, I saw that I was not in Alice's room. The room had a simple black and gold colour scheme and the bed wasn't as soft as Alice's. An entire wall was covered in CD's and the other wall was made of glass, giving a wonderful view of the forest.

"Where am I?" I blurted out.

"You're in my room. After you fell asleep, I carried you up to Alice's room, but it was… occupied at the time. So I carried you here. I slept on the couch," he informed me, and inclined his head in the direction of a leather couch with a pillow and a blanket roughly thrown on it.

I wanted to snort, as if he _slept_, but I thanked him instead. "Thanks for lending me the bed, and thanks for waking me up." The relief that washed through me at avoiding an awkward scream in the morning was indescribable.

"No problem," he offered as a reply, and ran a hand through his hair. He hesitated before continuing, "If you don't mind me asking... but what were you dreaming about exactly? It sounded horrible."

Taking a deep breath, I decided to give a small amount of information out on what I saw at night... "Err, I usually have nightmares about the day my parents died." My voice choked and stuttered a bit on the word _died_.

His arms pulled tighter around me in a protective gesture. That's when I realized that I was still in Edward's arms. It was really nice, but I should get out of them before things got awkward. Reluctantly, I pulled from his grasp and explained that I should get cleaned up in a bathroom.

Edward pointed to his personal bathroom and I quickly made my way in, after grabbing a bag of new clothes that Alice got for me, and my toothbrush. After the shower, I felt much better. I was clean, but that was only skin-deep; I was so messed up inside.

While I brushed my teeth, I heard the mutterings of the vampires downstairs. It seemed Edward was explaining about the sleeping arrangements, but thankfully he left out the nightmare. That was personal and I wanted to keep it as private for as long as possible.

As he told Emmett where I slept, he was suddenly subjected to an onslaught of suggestive jokes. _That was to be expected_, I thought as I held back giggles at Edward's reply. They were fighting like children. But I guess Emmett was one, at least in spirit.

I was on the top of the staircase when I bumped into Alice. It was time for me to leave; the weather was finally clearing and I was eager to see Angela. Politely thanking Esme and Carlisle and saying brief goodbyes to everyone else took a while, but I was finally in the car and on my way home.

Waving Alice goodbye, I walked inside the house. I saw Angela and was immediately subjected to another account of her date yesterday, except with more details and the added benefit of body language and facial expressions. It made me smile repeatedly to see her so ecstatic.

About an hour later, I finished showing and packing away all my purchases, and Angela was done with her recount. We had a quick lunch in which we talked a bit of what happened at the Cullens house during the storm last night. I told her all about Edward waking and holding me, and she seemed more interested than I deemed normal about the whole thing.

She left to go see her grandmother, and no doubt tell another person about Ben. Angela wasn't one for talk, but when she did, she usually had a topic she was interested in and even then she really only chatted about it to people she considered close to. I was happy I was included in that group.

I quickly surveyed the house and surrounding properties, and was amazed to see no damage done to the houses. With the strength of last night's storm, I was sure on encountering some collateral damage.

Tired, I headed up to my room and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had no dreams, yet it was a fitful sleep, like something was missing...

*******

**EPOV**

Alice was right about the weather. Bella looked apprehensive at the idea of staying with us, and I couldn't blame her. Her instincts are probably yelling at her to run.

We left her to have some space as she called Angela, receiving an earful of details of her date with Ben. Bella seemed amazing happy for her friend's outcome. Usually people would be tinged with jealousy at their friend's luck, but it seemed she was genuinely happy for her and nothing more.

It was a while after she was done talking and then she had to leave and change. Alice made us all change into pyjamas we never use. It was just a cover – like the new food that filled the fridge. A fridge someone was rummaging through. Hmm, Bella must be done.

I attempted to give her a fright, but she wasn't even bothered. She had turned around and held a can of chocolate whipped cream in triumph. She was certainly a strange creature. I lost my breath when she turned around though. Her short pyjamas made her legs look amazing, the blue colour working well with her skin tone. In that moment I really wanted to kiss her. Luckily, I had so much self-control though.

Someone as wonderful as Bella could not return such affections to someone like me. The thought was laughable. Alice insisted that she did, and I continually challenged her opinions. She could not _see _well anymore, so how could she even know?

Alice was calling for her and soon stole her away from my company. I spent some time playing the piano, but soon Emmett and Jasper called me to join the girls in for a movie._ The Phantom Of The Opera_ was an acceptable movie, but I wasn't keen on going. Then I heard that Alice ordered our company. Her punishments were notorious in our family. She almost always got her way.

Sitting next to Bella made her lean into me slightly. Leaning into me was probably an automatic reaction; she didn't even seem to notice it. But I certainly did. I was surprised, but didn't feel uncomfortable. It was quite nice to be warmed up by her warm body. But there was also something else; it was like a sort of current running between us. The others didn't notice us. They were getting very close together.

Jasper couldn't get any readings on Bella. His thoughts indicated it was as though nobody was there. I could empathize; I knew the feeling. He was slightly frustrated at her, but he liked the change. _Something different doesn't automatically mean it's bad…_ he mused to himself. But there was something else beneath his mental voice, something hidden. But as I felt Bella sigh against my chest, I soon forgot all about it.

During the movie, I noticed that Bella kept grinning wider and wider until she was laughing out loud. We had all looked at her questioningly. But her lips were sealed when we asked for the joke. I assumed it was an inside joke as she remembered a memory that caused her sweet laughter.

Bella left us as she didn't want to disturb us, and I followed soon after. I thought I saw Alice with a knowing look on her face but when I looked back, she was making out with Jasper and all I saw in her head was images of Jasper in somewhat… awkward positions, which effectively made me want to block her mind.

She was admiring my piano and after a bit of conversation, I realized it was a perfect time to show her what I could do. Unknown to her, I wrote the song I was playing for _her_, and her alone. I guess it could be called a lullaby of sorts. As I composed music frequently, my family thought nothing of this addition.

This was the best room for us to talk as it was harder to eavesdrop here than anywhere else. I made sure the soundproofing was of top quality, so the only way to really hear inside this room was to be a few feet away, and if anyone was that close, I would be able to hear their thoughts. But all I did was play a lullaby for Bella.

The song moved her nearly to tears. I was amazed that I had stirred so much emotion in her. The entire time we were leaning closer to each other and were only inches away. Her scent was potent and her warm breath caressed my face. All I had to do was lean in and kiss her…

But Bella suddenly looked away and enquired on the whereabouts of my family. I heard their mental voices downstairs and how we were about to participate in a game of pool. My voice was hopefully normal, but I felt disappointed at my lost chance. But now that I thought about it, I guess it was good that nothing happened…

Who am I fooling? I wish something did.

*******

The rest of the night was wonderful. Bella's musical laughter filled the house with life. She was an amazingly fearless person. I was baffled to believe that Emmett and Jasper thought a spider would scare her when she was fine with a houseful of vampires.

If she were a human girl, her feat of casually playing with a spider would have been incredibly brave. If she something else… I shook the thought out of my mind. Bella was so nice, so friendly; I really didn't want to force her into revealing a past that she doesn't seem to want to uncover. Every question asked on her family, she'd casually deflect. I knew we'd have to talk properly soon, but for now, I just wanted to have fun.

We mainly talked throughout the night. Bella was getting progressively tired throughout the conversation. Alice and Jasper left for their rooms, Jasper shamelessly pumping Alice full of lust, and she really couldn't control herself for much longer. Rosalie and Emmett left too, giving Bella and me what little privacy we could get in this house.

Turning around, I noticed Bella was fast asleep. Without waking her, I carried her upstairs with the intention of dropping her off to bed in Alice's room, but realized that was impossible after hearing the groans coming from within. I winced at the onslaught of mental images coming from Jasper and Alice, so instead I concentrated on Bella's face. It was peaceful and more beautiful than I could imagine.

Snapping my head up, I saw that I had carried Bella to my room. There wasn't anything wrong with it, so I dropped her gently into my bed, and threw a pillow and blanket on the leather couch to make it appear as though I slept there. I didn't want to give the impression that I made her unwittingly sleep in the same bed as me.

It was a sorely tempting idea to crawl in beside her and absorb her warmth, but I decided against it. I watched her for a bit, and as I was about to get up and shower, she began to thrash around. Her hands were clenching tightly at the comforter and her brows were furrowed. Her pink lips opened and a mutter came out. _She talked in her sleep?_

Intrigued and slightly concerned, I listened closer. "Wake up… wake up… _wake up_," she chanted over and over again. Her heartbeat was picking up its pace, and she was looking terrified. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Subconsciously my hands moved to her. I couldn't stand her pain and I knew I had to wake her. She was trying to wake up, and I would just be helping her.

Bolting awake, I hugged her towards my chest, and her entire frame was shaking. She leaned into me and I tightened my grip around her slightly. She relaxed a bit, but was still clearly shaken from whatever nightmare was gripping her.

"Are you okay? You were thrashing around a bit, muttering, "Wake up!" over and over again," I told her, whispering gently in her ear, eager not to frighten her any more.

"I'm fine, just a dream and nothing more…" she replied, her voice no more than a slurred whisper. Her eyes took in the scene around her, her face becoming a mask of confusion. "Where am I?" she asked suddenly.

"You're in my room. After you fell asleep, I carried you up to Alice's room, but it was… occupied at the time. So I carried you here. I slept on the couch," I quickly told her.

"Thanks for lending me the bed, and thanks for waking me up." She sounded genuinely thankful towards my actions.

"No problem," I muttered back. Running a hand through my hair I nervously asked, "If you don't mind me asking... but what were you dreaming about exactly? It sounded horrible."

"Err, I usually have nightmares about the day my parents … died." Her voice was so sad and heartbroken that I instinctively held her tighter. For a while we just sat, but Bella pulled away and headed for the shower. As she occupied my bathroom, I headed down the hall to freshen up in a spare bathroom.

When I finished, I headed down to the kitchen. Alice was extremely interested as to where Bella was sleeping last night. I told her she slept in my room, but I didn't tell anyone about the dreams. It felt like it wasn't my secret to tell. Personal. Private. Alice asked if there was anything wrong about her sleeping habits, but I simply brushed off her question.

Emmett's booming laugh interrupted our conversation. At first I thought that was a good thing. Alice was beginning to hint strongly that I should ask Bella out to the school dance as my date. But then Emmett had to make a lot of crude comments on Bella's updated sleeping arrangements. They all seemed to go along the lines of, "So you and Bella "_slept_" together… I'm "sure" that's _all_ you did… Did little Eddie cop a feel?"

The snide suggestions had made me want to thump Emmett on the head, until Jasper calmed me down. Bella walked down the stairs – breathtakingly beautiful as always – and she seemed as happy as she usually was; she must have recovered from the nightmare of her parent's death. That would probably be a terrible thing to relive every night. How she coped with it, I'll never know; her mind was a mystery to me.

When Alice and Bella left, I dawdled over to the music room and began to play. Contemplating everything as music swirled around me. I liked Bella, and I wanted to perhaps be more than friends. Alice said she liked me, but how could she know? By using her feminine instincts perhaps?

What was that old saying? _It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all._

It couldn't be love, but the concept was there. Instead of hoping Bella would make the first move, I should. Wasn't that how I was raised? In my day, we were to ask for the ladies' hand, not pine for them to approach us.

As my hands hit the keys, finishing the song, my mind was made. I would ask Bella out, regardless of her many secrets – I had my fair share of them. Doing something was better than nothing.

The only question left was – how?

*******

**A/N: *Ducks flying objects*. Sorry I didn't make them kiss, but it didn't seem right. In one alternate ending, the kiss happened, but it didn't work.**

**But at least Edward's going to ask Bella out! (Finally!) I'm thinking romantically. *Sigh*.**

***Laughs*. The Cullen clan are still clueless (but they know _something _is up with Bella), but all will soon be revealed...**

**As per usual - reviews, _flames_ and suggestions are all welcome. They make me happy and I write when I'm happy. *Hint, hint*.**

**Muffins with chocolate icing for a "cyber-snack" today. Thanks for reading. :-)**


	6. English Alba

**A/N: Hello there my fantastic readers! **

**Someone asked whether Bella being part vampire should actually make her colder. It doesn't. In **_**Breaking Dawn**_**, Renesmee Cullen is actually hotter than a werewolf. Read it carefully, and you can see it.**

**Basically, this chapter's just a bit of fluff. More plot movements are coming in later chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or make any profit from this story. But it would be great if I did. *Laughs*.**

******

**BPOV**

I looked up at the cloudy sky, revelling in the beauty of every individual snowflake falling past my face. Stretching slowly, I put my arms behind my head and used them as a makeshift pillow. The gathering snow around my body was melting due to my body heat, and I felt the dampness beginning to seep into my cardigan. But it didn't matter. I was in my rocky clearing all by myself, and I had all the time in the world to contemplate the thoughts swirling around my head.

Originally my purpose here was to fire bend, but I didn't really want to melt all this fluffy snow and make it freeze over again as ice. So instead I took to making snow angels and building snowmen. Currently, I was lying in a snow angel that resembled nothing as my heat was melting away its outline.

Today was Friday and thanks to the snow, school was cancelled for the day. I had hoped the dance would be called off too, but the weather forecast predicted the snow would end during late afternoon, and the school took that information to heart. If they called off the dance, not only would they have to repay every student's ticket, but they would also lose money as they have already paid for food and entertainment. The dance was not an event I wanted to attend, but Angela and Alice gave me one of the biggest guilt trips I have ever experienced. They double-teamed me, and I couldn't say no.

Lucky for my usual stubbornness, I was able to convince them both that I was capable of dressing myself. There was a good chance that Alice wanted to use me as her life-sized doll, and I was having none of that. Already I knew what I was going to wear, and I wasn't going to have Alice change that for me. My gut said that the night was likely to be a bust for me as I was dateless, which would surely attract a lot of guys asking for dances and such. I wanted none of that attention.

The week following the sleepover came with a handful of suitors asking for my hand. Most of them were nice enough, but I didn't want to go with them. So, I politely turned them down. I think that I was still subconsciously holding out for Edward, but I highly doubted that he was ever going to ask me. There were times during the week, which he opened his mouth and looked very nervous, but then he seemed to snap out of it, and conversation would flow easily again.

Either he wanted to ask me out to the dance or it was just my imagination gone wild. I was leaning towards my pessimistic side. Edward probably felt no more than friendship towards me. Pulling my music player out of my pocket and inserting my headphones, I contemplated my future.

Inevitably, I would either move away from the Cullen's or spill the beans on what I am. Everything would depend on what my brother and sister-in-law thought about the situation. So far, all evidence shows that they seem trustworthy enough, but two weeks isn't that long in the eyes of an immortal, where months and years can pass us by in the blink of an eye. Yet, I felt comforted in their presence, and I clicked with them as individuals very well.

Esme and I talked about decorating, Jasper and I argued about history. Emmett made the funniest jokes, and Alice and I spoke about clothes. Carlisle, in the few moments he is home when I visit, liked to talk medicine with me. Although he may not know it, I have two medical degrees. I pretended to be a novice, but I loved surprising him by occasionally spouting out something that someone my age shouldn't know. His face was always shocked and slightly amused.

Rosalie has been much, much warmer to me lately, I wouldn't call us the best-of-friends but she found my presence tolerable as I found that we had cars, and surprisingly enough, fighting techniques as common ground to talk about. I'm not as passionate as her about the motor vehicles, but she seems to like to have a girl to talk about the subject with.

And Edward… I really click well with him. There were tonnes of things we talked about; books, music, movies, generally anything. Sighing, I knew that I wished we could be past the realm of friendship. But I guess I should be thankful that we are friends.

Vaguely, I wondered whether the Cullen's would ever tell me that they were vampires. I already knew it, but it would be a huge symbol of trust towards me if they actually told me. But I shouldn't expect it. The laws were firm. Humans could not know about the secret. Then again, I was fairly sure that the Cullen's knew there was something different about me. Maybe they knew that I wasn't human. Surely, there was enough evidence out there that they could use to back up their theory.

Singing the lyrics of the song that just came on my music player under my breath, I thought about calling Corrin and Sophia. Deciding against it, I knew that conversation would be better face-to-face. Or as face-to-face as possible without them freaking out. Video calling or talking over a computer seemed the only way. If they were to come here, to Forks, and catch a whiff of vampire up their nostrils, they'd pull me out of here as fast as I could blink. I would need to calmly inform them about everything. But I wouldn't face that just now. I was just too lazy and comfortable to move at the moment.

Humming in contentment, I pulled my eyes from the dark grey clouds and turned to see my snowman smiling wanly at me. His pebbled eyes and mouth glinted slightly from the moisture, and his carrot nose was gathering frost. He was wearing my scarf, beanie and woollen gloves, but thankfully it'd take more than a snowstorm to make me freeze over. I grinned and turned my attention back to the sky. Snowmen always brought back good memories about the snow fights I had with Corrin and Annalie. Some memories of my parents carried alongside it a bit of a sting, but I soldiered through it. I wished more than anything that they were still alive.

There was a rustling noise to my right and I turned to see Edward leaning against a tree, staring intently at me. As he saw that my attention was on him, his face lit up with the presence of a lop-sided grin. Smiling back, I hid all evidence that I was startled immensely. How long was he just standing there? I raised an eyebrow in a questioning expression and asked.

"Well, I was hiking through the snow and heard singing. I followed the sound and found you here, lying in the wet snow. You sounded beautiful, and I knew if I announced my presence, you would stop. I wanted to hear you sing," he explained in his usual silky voice.

I was blushing bright red when he complimented my voice. Really, I was quite flattered, but over all of that I was embarrassed. Singing was something I preferred to do in private. Sighing, I pulled myself up out the snow as the water was really starting to soak into my clothes. In a flash, Edward was right beside me, helping me up like any chivalrous guy should.

In a concerned voice he asked, "Aren't you cold?" His hand was indicating to the lack of clothes I wore in accordance to the freezing weather. All I was wearing was a cardigan, skinny jeans and ugg boots. My more protective clothing was on my snowman. But my body was as warm as it would ever be. His hand, clutching at my arm, was colder than the surrounding snow and that didn't even make me shiver. I was my own little heater.

Shrugging in response to his question, I told him, "I'm perfectly fine, but my snowman was cold. So I lent him some clothes." He looked at my snowman and then back at me before bursting into laughter. "Truly, your mind works in a weird way; its confusing to try and figure it out sometimes," he told me while chuckling.

"I better be getting back soon," I informed Edward. I wanted to make a roast for dinner and I needed to get home early to have enough time to cook it. He nodded in agreement, but his face was suddenly sad and disappointed. I had no idea what made him like that, but it was too much to hope that me simply leaving would disappoint him so. As I turned, my foot lost its grip as I moved over slick ice, and I began a swan dive into the hard rock.

Thankfully, Edward caught me around the waist. Falling wasn't painful; it was just a blow on my ego. "This seems too common of an occurrence. You should be more careful," he whispered in my ear. He sounded as though he was holding back laughter. We were very close to each other. The current that sometimes travelled through us was burning brightly. Hastily, I moved out of his grip before I could do something stupid, like kiss him. My body missed his grip as soon as I moved out of it. He was frowning, but I barely registered that as I was babbling to hide my embarrassment.

"Wow, I'm really clumsy, I'm sorry. But it's really fortunate that you always seem to catch me before I fall. I should do something to say thanks to you."

"How about escorting me to the dance?" Edward interrupted.

"What?" My mind went blank. Was this really happening, or was this a cruel dream?

"You said that you wanted to do something to thank me for catching you all those times. An escort to the dance as my date would fit the bill," he told me, his face the picture of innocence.

As the information slowly made it's way into my brain, I smiled and said, "Yeah, that would be perfect!" His face lit up into a wide smile, and he seemed ecstatic at the news. "I just remembered that isn't this dance a "girl's choice" event?" I teased.

"Ahh, so it is, but by accepting my offer when denying so many others, I'll just assume that you chose me too," he answered back cheekily. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh and by the way, I wanted to give you this," he said in a slightly nervous voice as he pulled out something from under his jacket. Staring up curiously, I saw him take out a white rose. He held it by the thornless stem as he handed it to me. I took it immediately, pulling it to my nose to smell. Not only was it beautiful, but it also smelled lovely.

In the part of my mind that wasn't stunned by this very sweet gesture, I thought about all the symbolism this rose could hold. A single rose for simplicity. A rosebud with leaves and no thorns, means "_I fear no longer; I hope_". White roses were meant to symbolise spiritual and true love, purity, reverence and secrecy. The secrecy thing was definitely down pact on both parties, but _love_? Maybe I'm reading way into this. There's a high chance he just chose roses because they were so clichéd. Or maybe Alice conned him into it, without him knowing everything. But it was really pretty at least.

Usually, I'm not one for flowers, but this was a flower from _Edward_. Oh wow, I'm sounding like a lovesick teenager. Sighing, I thanked Edward simply and asked how long he had been carrying it for.

"Well, I had one in my pocket for every day of the week. I've tried asking you before, but I had always lost my courage at the last moment. Every day I didn't ask you, another rose went to waste. Lucky for me I forgot to take this one out before I went for a walk." I was stunned; he wanted to ask me all this time? Smiling brightly at him, I hoped my expression showed how amazed and happy I was.

Taking a closer look at the rose, I realised that it was a white _English Alba_ rose. How did Edward know that this was my favourite flower?

"Hey, Edward. How did you know that the _English Alba_ rose was my favourite flower?" I asked curiously. I was fairly sure that I haven't told anyone that in decades.

His face was a mask of surprise. "I didn't. Just a lucky guess."

Smiling, I looked at the rose fondly and said in a nonchalant voice, "Would you like to know why it is my favourite rose?" Without waiting for a reply, I continued speaking. "Not only is it beautiful and fragrant, but they say that this rose is the rose that Romeo and Juliet were talking about when they said, "_a rose by any other name smells as sweet_"."

Grinning, Edward said, "I never knew that, but let's assume I did. Makes everything seem more romantic." I laughed, but a glance at my watch really did say it was time to get a move on home.

"I'll pick you up at 6:30pm," he told me as we parted ways.

The entire walk home, I kept breaking out into quiet giggles and happy grins. Every so often, I'd press the rose to my nose. Now, I couldn't wait for the dance. Thank god it wasn't cancelled.

Irony is a pain sometimes. Before, the dance was coming towards me too quickly. Now it couldn't come soon enough.

*******

**EPOV**

Her voice was beautiful. I saw her lying in the snow, at perfect ease, singing along to a song she was listening to. Unbelievably, she was neither mad nor surprised at my presence, more embarrassed than anything else. The blushes that graced her cheek were so adorable. It felt like a perfect moment to ask her out.

All week I wanted to ask, but I either lost face at the last moment, or the situation wasn't right. I felt the rose press against my chest, and it suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Would she know all of the meanings behind it if I were to give it to her? Should I ask her now? I opened my mouth to announce my presence, but she beat me to it by glancing my way.

She seemed happy and confused to see me. I explained about how I followed her voice and stumbled across her lying here and singing. Purposely, I left out the bit about how I originally thought the voice belonged to the elusive vampire in these parts as firstly, it sounded too beautiful for any human and secondly, it led right into the opening where the vampire has been residing quite often. At first I wanted to get Bella out of here – what if the vampire came while I was with her? – but I soon lost track to my train of thought as I watched her.

She blushed profusely as I complimented her voice, and as she got up I noticed that her clothes wouldn't allow for much warmth. Concerned, I questioned her physical well-being and she in turn, explained how she felt her snowman needed the clothes more than herself. Laughing at that, I told her how I felt about her mind, how it was confusing for me to unravel.

Looking up at me, she explained how she had to leave soon. It saddened me for her to be taken away from my presence so soon; I was still to ask for her hand. But I wondered if I'd ever get enough courage to actually go forth with the actions.

Saying goodbyes, she turned to leave, but in a traditional Bella way, slipped on some ice before making her exit. As usual, I caught her, but for some reason the electricity that occasionally passed between us was stronger than normal. She pulled away quicker than I would have thought possible and began babbling away, embarrassed. I frowned, what was wrong?

Then something she said registered in my brain, and I suddenly asked her out. She froze, equally as shocked as I at my sudden outburst. Her face was confused, and I was stabbed with pain at the realization that she could reject me. But I soldiered on and waited for a response.

Bella's face lit up in realization and she said yes!

I was giddy with happiness with the success of asking her out. It was much easier than I've previously envisioned. Nervously, I presented her with the flower, hoping that it wasn't too overwhelming. But she seemed really happy about getting a rose. However, I doubted she could truly comprehend the hidden meaning behind it. As she said nothing on the thornless stem and specific colouration of the flower, I expected that she thought nothing of it apart from it was beautiful and smelled nice.

Bella asked how I happened to be carrying a rose in my pocket, and I explained how I had wanted to ask her for a while, now. I felt slightly embarrassed, but Bella has pleased and taken aback with my answer. Maybe she had wanted me to ask her all along.

She told me that it was her favourite flower and I was stunned at my luck. I picked blindly as she never really had told anyone what her favourite flowers were, and I would have felt awkward to bring that up. Bella continued to explain the symbolism she saw in it from Romeo and Juliet. I felt slightly ignorant, and I had wished that I knew these things before, so it seemed more romantic.

But I made it into a light joke and we parted company. Running at vampire speed all the way home, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I couldn't wait for the dance; I bet Bella would look as beautiful as always.

*******

**BPOV**

Angela was helping me with the finishing touches with my hair when the doorbell rang. From the thudding heartbeat I could hear, I knew it was Ben waiting to collect Angela to the dance. Those two were so cute with each other. All week they've been in total bliss in one another's company. Ben had even started visiting her grandmother with her and apparently has full approval.

Squeaking slightly, Angela inserted the final hairpin and after she checked that it looked perfect, gracefully ran down the stairs to see Ben. I decided to give them a moment of privacy before I would head down. Giving myself a brief glance in the mirror, I knew I looked presentable enough to prevent murder by pixie.

The midnight blue, satin dress I purchased the first time I ran into Alice at a store a few weeks ago was currently wrapped around my frame. But I was handy with a needle and made a heap of alterations on it. It was truly unique and it was gorgeous. Light as air and sparkly as the stars, I was happy with the final design.

I had altered the dress, bringing up the plunging neckline to give a little more modesty to the wearer. The dress was a little plain when I bought it, but I had added some layers to the dress, giving it an airy look when I spun around. With several types of fabric on the dress, the texture and colour it showed was extraordinary, and I made sure to make it compliment my body. Using a few small alterations on the sides of the dress, I made it draw attention to my curves a little more without being overboard. The final touches were the small sequins I sewed to it, giving it a shine that made it look like I was wearing the night sky filled with stars.

My hair was in curls and tied up loosely into a bun. Checking the straps on my matching blue high heel shoes, I made my way carefully downstairs, pausing only to collect my black clutch purse. There was a knot in the pit of my stomach as I thought about how Edward was about to come and collect me. Giggling noises were wafting up towards me, and when I came in view I could see that it was Angela laughing lightly, her cheeks a faint red. Ben had his arms around her waist and they were looking happily at each other.

Their heads snapped towards me when I reached ground floor. "Wow, you look nice Bella," said Ben, but it was clear he had eyes only for Angela. I think Angela realized too, as her cheeks burned up a little more. From behind his back I mouthed the words, "_He's a keeper_" and I sat down on a kitchen chair. She nodded before she made her way out to the front yard with Ben. He was giving her a lift since Edward was giving me one.

Once I had spilled the beans to Angela about what had happened in the woods, she was all, "_I told you so_" for a good half an hour or so. After that, she had wanted proper details, and she got them too, after a persistent coaxing. She had thought the rose was the sweetest gesture, and she had insisted that Edward must have surely known of the hidden meanings behind the petals. As per usual, I was cynical and pessimistic.

Alice, who was practically vibrating with excitement at the news, had interrupted our dinner. She had raced over here after Edward told her to get proper details, as he didn't say much. Alice had been rattling off things at such a rapid rate, that even with my enhanced hearing capabilities, was near impossible to properly discern what she was saying. I had been hesitant to really say everything again, but Angela had taken the burden off me and had then explained everything to Alice as I did the dishes.

Afterwards, Alice insisted that she dress me up for the big night. But as I told her once and I've told her twice, I was having none of that. She had even pulled out the puppy dog look, but I was stubborn and had held my ground. I was fairly sure that no one had ever rejected her when she looked at him or her like that, so her expression when I declined her wish was priceless.

Finally she had left, and Angela and I were able to get some sleep. Saturday was dedicated to some proper '_Angela and Bella_' bonding time, as we hadn't had a good girl's day out in ages. We had gone to Seattle and had gone to a spa. It was nice and relaxing, but I don't think I could do this girly stuff all the time. However, as a treat it was great.

Funnily enough, I was more relaxed about the dance than Angela was. She had been scurrying around the place looking for random things for her outfit. I think the entire relaxing day was a bit of a waste on her after the rushed afternoon. All my things were in my room, so it wasn't much of an effort for me.

The clock on the oven hit 6:30 exactly when the doorbell rang. Smiling, I thought, _punctual much_? I walked over to the door and opened it to see Edward looking dashing in a black pinstriped suit and red tie, a slight grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. From behind his back, he pulled out a bouquet of roses, the very same roses he got me when he asked me out. Shocked and pleased, I instinctively grabbed them and lifted them to my nose to smell them. Beautiful.

"This time, I know what they mean to you. Now _this_ is a romantic moment," he chuckled.

Thanking him, I turned to put them in the vase where the other one was situated. He followed me into the house silently. Once I finished with the beautiful flowers, I turned around and was surprised at the close proximity Edward was to me. He had another white rosebud in his hand and he clipped it onto the strap of my dress.

"Although the rose is indeed beautiful, it pales in comparison to you," he complimented me in a smooth voice. The line was clichéd, but nonetheless sweet as the day it was written. Blushing and whispering a quiet thanks to him, I grabbed my purse before we made our way to the car. "By the way, you look pretty good tonight too," I told him.

That would have to be understatement of the year. He was beautiful inside and out.

He smiled and opened the door of the car for me. It was an Aston Martin. If these guys wanted to remain inconspicuous, then their choice in cars was going to ruin it for them. But I wasn't complaining. Sitting down comfortably in the passenger's seat, I watched Edward drive, and once we were out of the driveway, he asked about what I told Alice on what happened in the woods. From there, we drove in easy conversation, lightly joking on Alice and her strange quirks.

After several minutes of fast driving, we arrived at the school. It didn't look as bad as I anticipated. In fact, when dressed up a little, it was quite presentable. Already, I heard music blaring and saw the lights coming out of the makeshift dance area, which was previously the gymnasium. I noticed we parked a few cars away from a huge Jeep, and a gut feeling told me that it belonged to the Cullen's. Always the gentleman, Edward opened the car door for me. Will he ever let _me _to do it? I wondered if I would ever get irritated of this. He also offered his arm and I clasped onto it, walking in the direction of the dance area.

The rest of the Cullen's were waiting for us in front of the doors. I could hear Angela having a ball inside with Ben. Alice's jaw literally dropped when she saw me. I raised an eyebrow at her and teased, "I don't know whether it's an insult or a compliment. Are you so surprised that I can dress properly, or do I look that good?"

Hastily closing her jaw, she quickly said, "Sorry, I just thought… well judging by the casual clothes you wear to school…" Her voice trailed off.

Smirking, I explained, "Well, I don't exactly revel in attention, and I prefer comfortable clothes to stylish outfits. And I do have a sense of fashion; I designed this dress myself. Remember that dark blue dress I got with you? This is it, but under severe alterations." Her eyes widened in realization and she smiled, apparently satisfied. Rolling my eyes, I smiled and turned to everyone else and said hello's.

Rosalie was giving me the strangest look; jealousy and judgemental mixed in one? Ignoring it, I inspected everyone's outfits. The boys were dashing in suits, and the girls were more beautiful than ever in their dresses. Alice was in green and Rosalie was in red.

"Finally, Edward asked you out. It took him long enough," Emmett said as he mock punched Edward's arm.

Jasper nodded and said, "I know. He was anxious for ages about it. Believe me."

Edward groaned, but I just giggled. "Hey Jasper," I began. "Is that Jeep out there one of yours?"

Jasper nodded and inclined his head in Emmett's direction. "It's Emmett's." Emmett grinned and seemed especially proud of this.

Smirking, while raising an eyebrow, I asked in a suggestive tone, "Are you compensating for something Emmett?" His face darkened with anger and shame as his family and I began to laugh around him. Rosalie didn't laugh, though. But she was holding back a snigger.

"I am _not_ compensating for anything!" He protested over and over again. Everyone just laughed. If Emmett was capable of blushing, I bet he would have by now.

We walked in, and everyone who was already there looked up at us. The others seemed fine with it, but I blushed with a slight embarrassment. Edward's arm wrapped around my waist in a somewhat protective gesture. His body temperature was slowly warming up from his close proximity with me.

Glancing around, I saw how the student body dressed up the gym, and I must say, they did an excellent job of it. I was fairly surprised at how nice it was. A sudden movement in the corner of my eye directed my attention to Angela waving at me. Once I nodded my head in a move to show that I have indeed noticed her, she turned back in Ben's arms and began to dance. I smiled at the sight of them; never have I seen Angela so happy. If Ben Cheney screws this up, he'll have to answer to me.

"Would you grant me this dance?" Edward whispered in my ear. Startled, I jumped a bit, but I nodded in eager agreement. I could see everyone was already dancing. He moved his hands to my waist; in turn, I wrapped my arms around his neck. We didn't dance in a professional sense, more that we turned slowly around in beat with the music, but it still felt wonderful.

I rested my head against his chest and we kept spinning. It was nice. I felt safe, comfortable, protected. Even in his cold grasp, I felt warm. Sighing, I looked up and saw that Edward was staring intently at me. As we made eye contact we both smiled, and I returned to my former position.

Total bliss.

*******

**EPOV**

She was so warm in my arms, I could feel my very being heat up. It was a nice and wonderful feeling. Alice gave me thumbs up as she and Jasper danced by. I just grinned and rolled my eyes in response. But we had been dancing for quite a while and it was time for some food.

It was mildly adorable to see Bella complain about us breaking apart for food. She seemed really happy in my arms, but she needed food. Humans were always fragile. But I knew for sure that she could not possibly be a human. No normal human being would ever willingly date a vampire, unless they were insane. And Bella seems fairly sane to me. Though on occasion, she can have her odd moments. However, everyone has one of those days.

She poured some applesauce on her apple crumble as I searched for some apple juice. When she first told me that was what she wanted to have, I laughed until I realized that she was serious. Luckily, Bella wasn't offended, and she simply explained that she liked apples. A lot.

We sat down at a table together, with me obviously not eating. I wished that we could share a dinner together properly one day, but I knew the likelihood of that occurring was minimal – unless Bella was into eating elk and mountain lions. The corners of my mouth pulled up into a faint smile as I tried to think of Bella taking down a bear three times her size. It was near impossible to picture. Anyway, she ate food, real bona fide human food, so there didn't seem to be any need for blood.

Bella was comfortably sitting in my lap as she ate. Subconsciously, I think, she was humming quietly in contentment. Occasionally, I'd steal the spoon and feed her, even if she'd protest.

_Aww, aren't they so cute together?_ Alice and Angela thought at the exact same moment. Now that was creepy. Alongside their thought was an image of us. I just ignored it.

Rosalie's thoughts were still tinged in jealousy towards Bella. When her beauty did not touch my heart and soul, she thought no one's would. In fact, she was beginning to suspect that I was homosexual. But now she saw how I looked at Bella and wondered what Bella had that she lacked. _A heart and soul bigger than anything_, I wanted to taunt her with. But I was brought up to be gentlemanly towards women, and I would not stop that anytime soon.

_Damn Cullen_, I heard male voices curse around the room, thoughts saturated in jealousy towards having such a beautiful lady residing in my lap. Smiling, I whispered in Bella's ear, "Okay, you've finished eating. Would you like to dance again?" She nodded and in an instant we were up and dancing again.

Bella stopped for a minute looking over my shoulder. Sighing, she turned to me and looked me in the eye as she said, "Angela wants to talk to me, and I'm going to go to her, okay?" I nodded and let her go. Nearly immediately, Alice was making the most of my time away from Bella to talk, but I barely heard any of it.

Easily looking over Alice's head, I saw Bella picking up her phone. Over the music it was hard to hear what she was saying, but I got snippets of the conversation.

"Yeah, kind of… No… Yes… What? … No… _Yes_… Okay, later then… Don't wear that vampire costume… It's _silly_, that's why! … Got to run… Bye… I love you too." And with that she hung up.

Now that was as confusing as a Japanese puzzle box. What was that about a vampire costume? Who was it on the phone? She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, indicating that we should dance again. Alice gave us space and ran off to find Jasper again. I wanted to ask what that was all about, but if I was human, I wouldn't exactly have been able to hear her, now would I?

So I stayed quiet and just content that we were dancing. Bella assumed we were turning in beat with the music; whereas, in fact, we were dancing along to her heartbeat.

*******

**BPOV**

In the middle of a conversation with Angela, my phone buzzed inside my purse. Holding a finger up to Angela, I indicated that this would only take a minute and walked a bit away to get some privacy. Flipping open the lid, I saw it was Corrin who was calling.

"Hi Bella! Is that music I hear in the background?" His gruff voice barked out over the phone. It always made me smile to hear his voice.

"Yeah, kind of," I muttered; I didn't want to explain everything.

"Are you having a party?" he asked. Probably hurt that I didn't invite him if I was having a party.

"No," I replied quickly.

"Are you at a nightclub or dance or something?" he questioned.

"Yes." A short answer was better than explaining it was a school dance, because that would inevitably lead to questions of a date.

"Oh, okay then, I was just calling to see if you wanted to fly out to England and visit us."

"What?" I wasn't really paying much attention to that, and it sounded like he wanted me to fly over to England. Did he forget I had school?

"Do you want to visit us in England, Bella? There's a fancy dress party for Halloween coming up!" His voice was like that of an excited child.

"No." My choice was solid.

"Are you sure?" He still sounded hopeful. Corrin he was the ever so persistent optimist.

"_Yes_," I emphasised in the hope that he'd drop it.

"Fine, I'll call you later then." Corrin sounded discouraged, but not put out entirely.

"Okay, later then," I said, eager to get back with Edward.

"I think I'll wear my vampire costume," Corrin muttered absent-mindedly. He had one of those typical Transylvanian vampire costumes, and he loved wearing it for who knows what reason. However, I hated it. It was not only tacky, but also hideous.

"Don't wear that vampire costume," I said hurriedly. I knew Sophia would agree with me. It was too easy to picture her agreeing with me. It was the full thing; cape, plastic fangs…

"Why not?" Corrin put on a mock whiny voice.

"It's _silly_, that's why!" I told him.

"Fine, fine…" But I could hear the lie beneath his voice. He was going to wear it anyway. There was no point in arguing; I was thousands of miles away.

"Got to run," I told him

"Talk another time then." Corrin sounded mischievous. I felt anxious for Sophia. Usually, he had that voice on when a crazy idea popped into his head, but I wasn't too fussed at the moment to actually find out what it was all about.

"Bye," I said.

"Love you," he replied. As always, he sounded sincere. It warmed my heart.

"I love you too," I replied with just as much sincerity and then hung up.

*******

The night seemed to go all too quickly, and suddenly Edward was dropping me off at my house. He walked me to my door, and before I could chicken out, I kissed him gently on the lips. Edward was frozen in shock, and I was about to pull away, when he came out of it and hugged me tightly, pulling his lips to mine again.

His lips started off as cold, but as time progressed, they were as warm as mine. It felt amazing; the electricity flowing between us could power a town.

I don't know how long we kissed. We only stopped because a slight cough from Angela broke us out of our concentration. I blushed while Edward smirked. Angela went inside to give us a moment of privacy. Ben had just dropped her off, and she was smiling at our public displays of affection.

"Thanks for the kiss," I murmured to Edward. My heart was fluttering and my stomach felt as if there were butterflies hovering in my stomach. It was not an unpleasant feeling.

"No, thank you for a wonderful evening," replied Edward, bending over one last time to press his lips to mine.

Waving goodbye, I made my way inside, and heard Edward drive out of the driveway. What a perfect end to the night.

*******

**EPOV**

Bella kissed me. That was surprising. I was at first scared that I would hurt her, but as she began to back off, I instantly missed the warmth of her lips and pulled her back to me. As gently as I could I kissed her. It was warm and amazing to say the least. The grin plastered on my face could not be wiped off.

I had just arrived home from dropping off Bella, and already Alice had assaulted me. That had to be a record.

_You look so happy!_ Her thoughts were saying. I just nodded and looked at her questioningly. Alice was hiding something under that spiky head of hair, and I wish she'd just tell me. Groaning, I muttered, "Just tell me, Alice."

Frowning, I could tell she was beginning to get serious. "What are you going to do? You obviously have feelings for her and you're an immortal. If she was to die, what would you do? Vampires only really connect once, and I'll say you've used that up with Bella." She finished talking and was now telling me through her thoughts. _There's that chance that she isn't human, and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but what if she is?_

Shaking my head, I muttered in an extremely low voice, "I just can't think about that right now."

Alice looked at me with pleading eyes, and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry." She opened up her mind and showed a blurry vision of the future.

_Snow was falling… There was a fire somewhere, but it was blurry as anything… We as a family gathered… All staring at the fire… It looked like we were immobile… None of us were moving, but we were all yelling… The silence from the vision was overwhelming… The silence was broken by me crying out, "Bella!"_

That was where the vision ended. I stared in mute horror at my sister. _I didn't want to tell you, but just then, at the dance another one hit, and they seemed to coincide with one another._ She told me in her thoughts. Again she opened her mind to show me another one.

"_She's been bitten!" Carlisle was crying out. "Edward, help her!" Snow was still falling around softly._

Then it stopped. There was nothing else. What in the world would happen?

*******

**A/N: I hoped everyone liked the way Edward asked Bella out. :-)**

**Alice's visions are really confusing, aren't they? But to me they make perfect sense. *Evil laugh*. They'll make sense to you (as the reader) soon enough.**

**Cookies and cream ice-cream for reading. Thanks a lot everyone! :-)**


	7. New Arrivals

**A/N: Howdy there loyal and new readers alike! This is the chapter where Bella's family finally make an appearance. *Squeaks*.**

**So that equals some plot movements here! Not so fluffy though - not a fan of writing too much fluff - just so you're prepared.**

**This is all Edward's POV, but the next chapter will be all Bella. I know it may sound boring to have the same chapter twice, but each character have some serious things to mull over in the chapter. Hopefully, you'll enjoy both of them.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by the infamous Stephenie Meyer. Y'all know I'm called _Tellytubby101_. Connect the dots, use logic, whatever. You can work it out.**

*******

**EPOV**

We were settled around the mahogany table, in deep discussion about the meanings behind Alice's visions. I cannot believe that just ten minutes ago, I was kissing Bella on her front porch. It seems like a world away. We were all still dressed in the clothes we wore to the dance. Carlisle was incredibly concerned about the entire thing, alternating in-between questioning Alice and thoughtful silence. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he was trying to sort through them.

Esme was incredibly worried. She knew exactly how happy I was with Bella, and had a fairly clear idea of what would happen if she died. Jasper was hugging Alice tightly, sending out calming feelings to everyone, but they weren't helping much. Emmett was gearing up, already in big brother mode. He thought of Bella as family, and he would put his existence on the line for her. So would I, come to think of it.

Rosalie seemed disturbed. I didn't know her feelings for Bella ran along the same lines as the rest of us. It seems she had been hiding her thoughts and feelings; rather effectively too, might I just add. Rosalie saw Bella as a really annoying, irritating younger sister, but a part of her life nonetheless. If I were not so worried, I would be amazingly happy to see how Bella was so accepted into our family.

_We might have to change her…_ Alice had a worried tone of thought, and my head snapped up in to her direction. A growl left my lips, and I snapped, "We are not changing her."

"Why not? You obviously have intense feelings for her, and may I be so bold to say they even border on love. You would be heartbroken without her," Alice replied.

Love? But I wasn't in love, was I? I had never experienced love, but the same could be said that never had I felt anything as amazing as what I shared with Bella. Shaking my head, I knew that there would be time to go over this later. For now, I had to convince everyone that changing Bella was not for the best.

"But we don't even know whether she is a human or not!" I half-yelled. "And I… I could never live with myself if I doomed her to our kind of existence. Would any of you turn down the chance to be human again?" I looked at them all, and they slowly shook their heads. "So you see, I cannot do that to her!"

"Then what are we to do about these visions?" cried Esme. Her eyes were frantic with worry, but her thoughts were accepting of the fact that changing Bella was my choice.

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose and said in a weary voice, "I don't know. We can deal with it later."

"You cannot keep putting this off, Edward! Be a man and make a decision!" snarled Rosalie. In between her hands was a lump of metal that used to be a lamp, but in her frustrations, she had wrung it into its current condition.

Growling, I said, "There are times when I am almost certain she is not human. Sometimes, I swear she can hear and see things other humans cannot. Then there are other times when the humanity shines through her like a light. When she blushes or falls… the list could go on for days. It would be so easy if she was one of us, but I know one thing for sure, and that is she is not a vampire. But I will not be responsible for dampening the light of her humanity."

Rosalie whole-heartedly agreed with me. She thought of humanity as a major gift that was often overlooked. Changing Emmett was a slightly different thing, as he was near death. Life shone through Bella like the sun. Me changing her would be bona fide murder.

Carlisle respected my decision and played mediator. "Okay, Edward. As a group, as a family, we will respect your decision to leave her as she is. Now let's discuss the _possibility_ that Bella is something different."

"A werewolf relative, perhaps?" queried Esme. Carlisle shook his head and said, "After studying up on Quileute legends, I have come to the conclusion that the women cannot spark the werewolf gene into life. So it cannot explain the warmth or strength. There has to be another logical explanation for this. Or as logical as they come."

Emmett blurted out, "Maybe she's an alien!"

I snorted and said, "Be serious, Emmett. This is no time to joke." My face was arranged into a scowl.

"I'm serious. She's otherworldly! Or she could just be a really odd human," he said in a defensive tone. His frown changed into a contemplative expression as a new line of thought came into play. "Maybe Alice is defective or something. Perhaps we are reading way too much into this. Alice says no matter what we do, the fires are still there. So in theory, this is a set event in time, and we cannot change it. We should stop worrying about it."

Opening my mouth to snap at him for the absurdity of his statement, Carlisle interrupted me. "Emmett, that is, in fact, a rather interesting way to view things. It seems that with or without our presence, the scene will happen. For now, I propose we stop worrying about it too much. There is nothing we can do. I'm sorry, Edward, that sounds harsh, but think about it with Alice." He looked at me beseechingly, communicating with his thoughts, saying how he could not see anything we could do.

Alice went into the murky world of the future, and I dived in there with her. Her complex vampire mind was able to think of an infinite amount of scenarios; and in all her visions of the future, the fire was indeed there. Emmett was right. There was seemingly nothing we could do.

So I reluctantly nodded my head, and everybody accepted my authority and Carlisle's judgement on the matter.

Slightly upset at the eventual outcome, Rosalie went over to embrace Emmett. It still boggled my mind that she accepted Bella as a family member. I was prepared for more rebuttal than this. Esme sat on Carlisle's lap, still worried to no end. Alice looked at me and pleaded for forgiveness. Nodding at her, I tried to wordlessly convey that I knew it wasn't her fault. Jasper looked at me with pity and understanding, knowing that I had to get away from all this.

As I shot into the forest, my mind was struggling to come to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do. Vaguely, I remembered that a few weeks ago, the visiting vampire was all that was worrying me. Although that vampire was never found, it's past presence was now at the end of my list of worries.

I ran as fast as I could in the hopes that getting a late dinner would soothe my frayed nerves. In the back of my mind, I knew that it wouldn't, but what else could I do?

*******

During the week, I was tense. I hoped that Bella didn't notice anything. Alice's visions really unsettled me, but after the family discussion, we decided to stay and see how it would go. Carlisle played around with the concept of leaving, but Alice said the fire was still there, just more intense and without any of us standing around it. Sometimes the background of the blurry forest changed, but there wasn't anything else that was different. She said it was concrete no matter what way you looked at it.

Alice looked into the future for anything else of interest. Changes in the stock market, changes in the weather, and the possibility of a visiting nomad were all that she encountered. It was not very helpful, to say the least.

Other than the fact that something horrible was looming on the horizon, this week was one of the best weeks in my existence. It was great to hold Bella in my arms; her extreme body heat never ceased to amaze me. I had a nagging thought that the entire arrangement would change our friendship, our previous easygoing relationship – but it didn't.

Around each other, we acted the same, except with the added benefit of kisses and other romantic gestures. The transition from a platonic friendship to a gentle intimacy was smooth. Bella always turned rosy red when I kissed her, even if it was just a light peck on the cheek. Really, it made my day to know I could do that to her without wanting to rip her throat out. Her unique smell definitely made her easier to be around than another human. But her personality also helped too. She was funny, independent, opinionated, and extremely persistent.

That was _my _Bella.

Wow, that felt good. I had a sort of claim over her. Then again, I had just reverted back to caveman days with my comment.

She surprised me greatly with her basic indifference to the amount of gossip surrounding us. And rightly so; if these people have nothing better to do than gossip and spread rumours about other people, then their own life must be lacking greatly in some regard. A lot of girls were incredibly jealous of Bella for having me as her boyfriend. Jessica, especially. Outside, she was openly cordial and nice to Bella but was thinking horrible, traitorous thoughts towards her. I wished that I could tell Bella, but that would be an awkward conversation; _by the way Bella, I can mind read, so I can confirm that Jessica Stanley hates you_.

Although I thought—assumed, really—that having a girlfriend would deflect the amount of admirers, it actually increased it. Many of the female population thought I was gay or had a long-distance girlfriend. But now they coulld see I was dating Bella, and they were all waiting for her to mess up. On the other end of the spectrum, guys were mentally cursing me and were wishing that I screwed-up somehow. Both scenarios were highly unlikely. It was hard, but I blocked a lot of the thoughts out.

It was Friday. People generally liked Fridays, but I wasn't a fan of them. They were the barriers to the weekend, to freedom. Alice wanted to make us all go out on a group date this weekend, and I'd be more than happy to oblige if Bella was going. During lunch, Alice presented her with the idea and was instantly shot down.

Apparently, Bella was expecting visitors. For a second, I was confused that I had not heard any stray thoughts about this from Angela. Then Bella let it be known that even Angela wasn't aware of this. She was freaking out a bit, but Bella really wanted to keep it a surprise. Emmett pushed his luck with her and nearly got slapped. I restrained her, but only because I didn't want her to hurt herself by hitting what was practically a brick wall.

Bella received several messages near the end of lunch, and I was insanely curious as to whom they were from. Whoever it was from, they made Bella smile and giggle. But she stayed mum as to who it was, and I had a very good idea the texts were connected to the surprise visitors. Alice was stewing in anxiety. Her lack of sight really did make this a secret, and she positively detested secrets. Jasper was attempting to calm her down, but to no avail.

During the walk to class, Bella was really out of it, obviously deep in thought. I knew it'd be best not to disturb her. However, I was incredibly curious as to what was going on beneath that head of hair. Although the initial shock of not knowing what she was thinking had worn off, I suddenly wanted to know everything about her; but I was experienced enough to know that it would be awkward to question her endlessly. In fact, the surprises and secrecy and overall the unknown was really quite refreshing for me. Never in my century of immortal life had I experienced anything like it.

As we entered the gymnasium, I was irritated to learn that we were expected to partake in the incredibly mediocre sport of volleyball, which to play as a vampire against humans was unbelievably dull. Also, Bella and I were separated into different courts, so I had no one to laugh and joke with.

With every serve, I had to concentrate my strength, so as to not accidentally puncture the ball. Without interest, I was watching the progress of my team; who were obviously winning with me on their team. _Ha ha, I'll get her for embarrassing me in front of the whole student body! And for the multiple detentions!_ A mental voice I immediately recognised as Mike interrupted my thoughts. Scowling, I listened in on his plans to aim and hit the ball at Bella as many times as possible.

If that cowardly twerp were on my court, in my game, I'd give him a generous serving of his own medicine. To my dissatisfaction, he wasn't, and he succeeded in downing Bella twice. After school, I'd deal with him, but not with so many witnesses. Thank god Bella was a tough girl, I thought to myself, as I watched Angela lift her to her feet for the second time. Mike seemed very pleased with his work. Actually, I was surprised he had the guts to go and do that to her – he knew she had martial arts knowledge. Very good knowledge from what I've gathered, as she has yet to give us a demonstration.

Suddenly, a broad grin lit up Bella's face as it was her turn to serve the ball. As she was setting it up, I saw her eyes dart briefly to Mike, and I immediately knew she was going to aim for him. The ball soared and in an instant, Mike was down. The look on his face set half the gym class into fits of laughter, myself included.

Tears were running down his cheeks, his face flushed red in pain and embarrassment. Bella's face was glowing in the aftermath of her small victory. Then a scowl graced her features as I heard Newton try to get her in trouble. When the coach berated him, she was smiling again, talking animatedly to Angela. It seemed odd.

Then I realized why. Bella and Mike were on different sides of the gym. How the hell did she hear him? It seemed too perfect to be a coincidence. It re-enforced the notion she was not human.

But then what was she?

*******

Biology. The first class I saw Bella in. It had sentimental memories for me. Yet I wished fervently that it would wrap up, so Bella and I could go and relax. There were still ten minutes until the bell, and the class would have bored me into tears if I could produce any.

Bella and I usually talked, but today we seemed content to sit in silence, content and peaceful in one another's company. As I watched my hand methodically rub the back of her warm little hand, I thought about earlier in the gymnasium. My thoughts were trying to convince me that it was all coincidence, but my gut was strongly advising me that there was something really odd about Bella. Something I should investigate more closely in case it brought danger to my family. But the selfish side of me – which was rather large – wanted it to stay simple, not to complicate and ruin my small island of bliss, which was already shrinking with Alice's confusing visions.

The class was filled with thoughts of varying degrees on the tedium of biology. Swirling colours and words filled my mind, but I blocked them out by concentrating on Bella's hand in mine. Her face was staring blankly at the window, looking at the light rain and fog appearing outside. At the moment, she seemed totally out of it, in her own little world. Usually, it irritated the hell out me when I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but right now, I was just appreciating her secrets, making what we had a real relationship based on trust.

Ha! Trust. Right... We both had secrets, and I knew mine was a fairly big one. I pictured telling her in casual conversation that I was a vampire. It was all too easy to picture the look of shock on her face. But I'd bet she'd reply with something totally random, because that's the way Bella is.

Smiling wanly, I opened my mouth to comment on something, when a high-pitched whistle pierced the air, a sound higher than any mere mortal could hear. Yet Bella's head whipped around at the same moment as mine, looking in the exact direction of the sound. Her face lit up in a huge smile, and her eyes sparkled with suppressed joy. She was beautiful. But she reacted to a sound that humans definitely could not hear.

How was that possible? Dogs would have problems grasping that sound, let alone a human... The only conclusion was that she was not human. I guess I was hoping that that wasn't the case. However there was no way that she could have accidentally heard that. But what did that make her?

Startling me out of my line of thought were two sharp whistles, of a slightly higher pitch, coming from right next to me. I looked over to see Bella blowing a reed whistle that had previously been hidden beneath her sweater. How long had she had that? Was it some form of communication?

The metallic metal string clashed slightly with the reed pipe, but I could immediately tell that it was old. Vaguely, I recalled that Bella had this reed whistle for as long as I had known her. Thanks to my picture perfect memories, I was able to analyse every day I had seen her, and in all of them, she had that necklace hidden just out-of-sight. Even on our first date she wore the reed pipe...

Suddenly, I gasped at the sight of Bella bent slightly, clutching her stomach, face ashen white. She was asking to be excused, and I panicked slightly, wondering not only how sick she was, but also if the whistle caused such a reaction in her. My mind processed years of medical knowledge at an unimaginable rate. Though a subtle wink from Bella, I learned that it was a ploy to leave class. Confused, but getting the message, I let her pass without much fuss. As concerned as I was, I knew that babying her was not what she wanted at the moment.

Looking out the window a moment later, I was startled to see Bella run out into the parking lot. I was slightly surprised to see her get out there so quickly, as if she had run the entire way. Watching her was slightly difficult as the light rain and fog were blurring everything outside. My stomach felt as though it had plummeted to my knees as I watched her jump eagerly into he arms of another man, whom I hadn't noticed until then.

A fire flared within me. Jealousy. Scowling and squirming internally, I watched as he spun her around in his arms. Not only was the misty rain obscuring my view, but it also hindered my hearing. All I could hear from outside was the sound of the pitter-pattering rain.

Surprise filled me as I suddenly realised that I could not hear a whisper of a thought from this person. But I thought about the distance and concluded that either the distance or the volume of the mental voice would affect my ability to hear him or not. I had encountered several humans before with very quiet mental voices; usually, they were fairly shy people.

Mr. Banner, who finally got the message that he could no longer teach any more to our class for the day, let us out early. Normally, I would have run as fast as I could in my haste to unravel the mystery, but there were too many witnesses and Carlisle wouldn't appreciate it if I accidentally exposed us all. So, walking at a reasonably rapid pace to the front, I made it in time to hear a brief snippet of conversation.

"Corrin, if you even think about interrogating my boyfriend, you will need to sleep with one eye open. Got it?" Bella was threatening the unknown male, and it made me smile. At least I knew they were just friends or something. My entire stance relaxed as I realised there was no competition. He waved off her threats and I could see why. Compared to this guy, Bella looked even more petite.

Angela came out of nowhere and suddenly collided with the guy, squealing all the way. This guy really had a way with the ladies, I thought wryly. At this point, the rest of my family were meeting up and we were all walking towards Bella, Angela and the unknown male, in varying levels of curiosity.

At this point I was definitely close enough to pick up a mental voice, but there was nothing but silence from him. It was unnerving, but not as shocking as the time I met Bella. I wondered why I couldn't hear him, and decided to think it over in more detail another time.

Utilising Angela's thoughts, I deduced that the unknown male was actually Bella's older brother. Now that my eyes were not clouded by jealousy or confusion, I began to see slight resemblances between the pair. The same brown eyes, same thick brown hair with slight curls and the same nose. But there were also a lot of differences. His build and height were extremely different. Where Bella was short, curvy and lean, this Corrin fellow was very well built and tall. Similar to Jasper, I guess. If I had to guess a family relationship between them, cousins would have jumped into mind before siblings.

The sounds of Bella introducing Corrin to the others interrupted my thought process. I had almost forgotten the others were still clueless as to the identity of the guy, although thanks to Angela's cries, they probably knew his name.

"You guys, this is Corrin. He is my fantabulous older brother," Bella was saying. Corrin gave a polite smile, although his eyes were intense, as though he were scrutinising everybody. Bella pointed us all out in turn. With the guys, he shook our hands very tightly. Jasper and Emmett were relaxed and polite, even thought they were still a little confused.

When he arrived at me, he gave me the briefest of warning glances. Bella noticed and glared at him, presumably to remind him of his promise to be nice. She then began introducing the girls. I guessed that her brother was over-protective and was judging me more than the others, probably due to the fact that I was dating Bella. Hmm, it seemed I had better make a good impression on this guy. Since Bella's father was deceased, I would say that he had become the breadwinner of the family.

Once Bella pointed to Rosalie, all of my siblings and I were just waiting – whether it was conscientiously or subconsciously – for Corrin to drool over Rosalie. But he barely gave her a second glance. Sure, he smiled at her, but he was utterly uninterested in her looks. It was like he had seen better than Rosalie.

Rosalie's thoughts were very reminiscent of the first time she talked to me and saw how I rejected her beauty. Her thoughts were vain and furious. Not that she had any desire for him; it was just that she liked the admiration. But it was understandable to an extent; she liked to be admired; who wouldn't? But her thoughts, I found, were usually shallow. There were times when she had selfless rants, but they were few and far between.

When he shook hands with Alice, his face broke out into a very genuine smile. I think he was taken to her bubbly nature immediately. It was hard to hate Alice. Or maybe she got the best review from Bella.

Always the social joker, Emmett broke the ice nicely with a joke and from that, casual conversation sprouted. Corrin had a rather throaty, husky voice, but a booming laugh reminiscent of Emmett.

A blast of icy wind threw his scent in our direction and with mild surprise, I learned that his scent was somewhat similar to Bella's. Though the top layer was a honey kind of smell, there was only the slightest of bloodlust for me. It was more than Bella, but less than anyone else. Now that I had a strong inkling that they may be a different species, I wondered if that explained it.

After a couple of minutes of conversation, the rain getting slightly heavier around us, none of us really bothered by it. Bella pulled me to the side, just out of human hearing range and whispered in my ear, "Please don't worry about Corrin. He can be a bit of an overbearing git sometimes." I replied with something about how nice it was to meet her family. And that was the truth. She had always been so private on the subject.

She relaxed a bit, but not much, which was understandable. I would expect that she would want her brother to approve of her friends and boyfriend. Since he was as silent as Bella – was that a family trait? - I wasn't sure what he thought of me, but he seemed content with the rest of my family. Alice especially.

Alice was very eager to get to know Corrin better and asked if he wanted to go out with us and see a movie. But instead Bella asked if we wanted to join them for dinner, Carlisle and Esme included. As a group, I read their thoughts, and we all seemed to like the idea of having a chance for another chat, but were not very happy at the prospect of having to eat food.

As we were being invited to a dinner specifically, then there was a very low chance for any excuse to get out of eating, and there was only so much food you could hide in a napkin. Urgh; greasy, slimy human food. My stomach flipped at the thought. But if it were for Bella's happiness, then I would do it.

A name was brought up: Sophia. It was surprising to learn that she was actually Corrin's wife. He looked no older than twenty-one. Rosalie's eyes were focused on the inconspicuous wedding band with relief. _This guy's heart is taken. No wonder he didn't give me a second look, _she thought. The guy must really love his wife. Many married men have given Rosalie a good look and then filled their mind with disgusting fantasies.

He gained some more respect from Emmett and Jasper by not checking out other beautiful women whilst being married. Alice and Rosalie were intently intrigued as to what Sophia looked like and what her personality was like.

By this time the rain was getting a tad too heavy to be ignored, so we parted ways. As Corrin and Angela were getting into the truck, I turned to say goodbye to Bella. She surprised me by giving me a kiss; I didn't think she'd want to with her brother in such close proximity. But I assumed that maybe she wanted to show that we were indeed a couple, and a kiss was one of the ways to go about that. Then again, maybe she just wanted to kiss me.

As we climbed into my silver Volvo, Jasper suddenly piped up, "Did any of you hear those high-pitched squeals?" Everyone nodded and he continued, "What the hell were they?"

I could tell no one knew as they all shook their heads, which snapped in my direction as I cleared my throat unnecessarily. I began to explain about what had happened in Biology with the whistles, Bella faking an illness and seeing her run into Corrin's arms.

The information surprised everybody. Hearing their thoughts, I knew they pinned the noises down to being a dog whistle or something of the like. Rosalie muttered, "This pretty much confirms she isn't human. Well, this and her extreme body heat and strength. No damn human can hear at that frequency, abnormally good hearing or not."

"Hmm," hummed Jasper as he thought things over. "It definitely sounds like a form of communication. Which is quite brilliant, if you think about it; no human can hear and if you hadn't told us, we would have ignored the whistle altogether." Jasper's thoughts became lower than a murmur as he went into tactical thinking mode. He was imagining the benefits of having such a covert communication system in a war.

"Do you think she knows about what we are?" asked Rosalie. I shrugged my shoulders in a non-committal movement.

"Bella might, but I have absolutely no idea. Her thoughts are as silent as a grave to me. Just because she might be another species does not mean she automatically knows every mythical creature, though," I answered. Hmm, I just realised that if she was a different species, it could explain the mental silence.

Emmett seemed fairly ecstatic, "Aww, little Bella is a monster like us! Guys, I'm telling you, she could be an alien!" Rolling my eyes, I was more concerned about what this meant for us as a whole.

"We aren't sure yet, but I guess it would be safer to assume that Bella is indeed something of the supernatural kind." Rosalie snorted at my description, but I simply ignored her. "Real question here is, do we or do we not attend the dinner?"

**_BETA HERE_**

"I'm definitely not keen on having to gulp down human food. Worse, we'll see it twice; once when we eat it, and the second time when we chuck it up! Why can't we go to a movie or something and just pretend that we've already eaten?" complained Rosalie.

"No, we can't do that," interrupted Alice. "It would seem rude to turn down their offer, and I expect that they would also want to meet Carlisle and Esme."

"Carlisle wouldn't like having to scarf down gross, oily human food," Rosalie muttered in a half-hearted retort. What Alice said was fairly true. However, the other guys were groaning about the food as well. If I weren't dating Bella, I'd probably be against the entire thing. We all detested eating, unless you counted our liquefied meals.

"I want to get to know Bella's family, and if I have to eat a bit, I will," I informed them all in a determined voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice nodding in agreement. With that, I knew Jasper would come too; he'd give the world to Alice if he could. Emmett's thoughts were coming to our side and I knew that if we were all going, Rosalie would most likely come, too.

*******

The entire car trip home was short, but we got a lot of arguing in, whether it was about Bella's dinner plans or her suspecting inhumanity. Esme heard us straight away, confused about our rather loud arguments. When Alice took pity on her and explained our predicament, she said immediately that she would attend the dinner, keen on meeting Corrin and Sophia.

Carlisle would be easily swayed with Esme on our side, so I knew that we were going. Rosalie pulled up into a slight huff, but she didn't put up too much of a fight, as she was curious to what Sophia looked like. _She must be rather amazing to keep a man so loyal to her..._ mused Rosalie as she walked absentmindedly to the garage.

Waiting for Carlisle to come home so I could inform him about the dinner, I passed the time by playing the piano, tweaking the lullaby that I was creating for Bella. One of these days, I would have to play it for her again and tell her for whom I had written it. But not so soon in our relationship; I didn't want to scare her away.

I laughed at the strangeness of the imagined situation. I pictured Bella by my side, unafraid that I was inhuman, yet running away screaming because I wrote a song for her. Funniest thing was that I actually thought that was possible.

Checking the time, I saw it was eight o'clock and right on time, Carlisle was home. I gave Esme a few minutes to talk to him first before making my appearance. Esme was halfway through explaining about the dinner when I popped in.

After spending a half-hour discussion discussing it in detail, Carlisle eventually agreed. Not only was he as curious as the rest of us, but he also knew Esme was very keen on going. His thoughts were slightly grumpy at the idea of having to consume food, but otherwise he was fairly all right.

Flipping my phone open, I dialled Bella's number, intent on catching her before she went to bed, so I could confirm that we were all going.

"Hello?" Bella's slightly grumpy tone filtered through, and I wondered if I woke her.

"Hi Bella, this is Edward. Did I wake you?" I questioned.

"Oh Edward, hi!" Immediately her tone brightened. "No, no. You didn't wake me up. I'm just a little peeved after a sudden epiphany I got."

"May I inquire to what you learnt in this epiphany?" I asked, my curiosity piqued with this new piece of information.

"Nah, won't bore you with the details," she said in a dismissive tone. "Can I ask why you are calling though?"

"I just wanted you to know that we will all indeed be coming. Carlisle and Esme are especially keen on meeting your family," I informed her.

"Oh good! I hope you guys have huge appetites for tomorrow! My sister is planning a _huge _meal. Sometimes I think she's a bit like Alice; an unstoppable force of nature with boundless energy," replied Bella in an excited voice.

My face scrunched up as I realised Bella expected us to eat _a lot_. "Err, Bella..." I tried to tell her that we didn't eat much, but then she interrupted.

"My sister loves cooking for visitors and loves hearing critique on her food!" Oh crap. It would seem unbelievably rude to not eat. And there is only so much food one can hide. Then there was the fact that we wanted to make a good impression on them, so we couldn't act as though we hated the food – even though we did.

"I have to go now, see you tomorrow!" With that, Bella hung up.

This dinner was going to be a pain. Literally. And in more ways than one. I had a feeling we were going to be judged...

*******

**A/N: To quote Homer Simpson, "Jebus!" Finally, it took the Cullen's long enough to get what was up with Bella. *Sigh*.**

**Ha ha. Emmett thinks she is an alien. Kind of plausible though. *Thoughful face*. :-)**

**Bella's really quite devious, isn't she? I've always wanted to write a scene where the Cullen's have to eat a _tonne_ of human food. *Laughs*. **

**Another note, Bella's epiphany was that Alice must have known about the hailstorm ('cause she is a psychic) and realises that Alice must have planned the sleepover, even though Bella specifically said, "No." This obviously makes Bella slightly mad, and therefore she is getting a bit of revenge through dinner. *Evil laugh*.**

**Grab a cookie for a snack. You deserve it for reading this story! **

**You want some ice-cream? Give me some feedback - reviews, flames, suggestions etc. All will be greatly appreciated. C'mon! It takes less than a minute! *Doe eyes*.**


	8. School Reunion

**A/N: Okay here is _New Arrivals_ in BPOV. Just like I promised. :-)**

**Thank you so much for all the feedback and reviews you've given me! Truly, they make me smile. The funnier or weirder the review, the better. Usually because they cause me to start laughing like a crazy person. Then my parents ask whether I'm feeling alright ... And normally I say, "Nope." ... *Laughs*.**

**I wanted to say, y'all know the scene where Bella jumps into Corrin's arms in the carpark? Well, that was the first thought that sparked this story. All the rest flowed from there.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. And to be honest, I don't really care. At least I can play around with the characters and plot.**

*******

**BPOV**

Staring at the computer screen as it loaded up, I was wringing my hands nervously, a million different scenarios running through my mind. After last night and a very important phone call this morning, I knew it was definitely time for me to tell Corrin and Sophia about the coven of vampires living a few minutes away from me.

Just after I was done eating my cereal, Corrin called with surprise news that he was going to come and visit me in a couple of days. Thank God for the prior warning because I was able to convince them to postpone the trip several days and for them to talk to me over the Internet and the web-cam first. Although confused, they were fairly compliant.

I knew that they were probably already online waiting for me, and I wondered what the hell I was going to say. Edward complicated things; before, if my family was disapproving of my closeness to such a big vampire coven, I would have moved on without too much argument. But now, after last night, I knew I would put up a hell of a fight before I would even consider leaving Edward. Mentally, I was arguing; was it worth it to start such a fight with my family? However, the computer finished loading, and Corrin and Sophia were looking happily at me, their brown eyes sparkling as they finally saw me on screen. Seeing their faces created a barrage of emotions within me and I realized just how much I missed them.

Sighing, I immediately decided that some pleasantries would stall things long enough for me to collect my thoughts. Forcing myself to smile brightly, I greeted them with a warm hello. They returned the gesture just as cheerfully. It was great to see their faces again after so long. Mentally, I made a note that we should to do this more often. Sophia wasn't too keen on technology, especially computers, but I thought I might be able to sway her.

Slightly concerned, Corrin asked, "What's wrong Bella? You sounded pretty nervous on the phone earlier."

Nodding, I gulped before continuing, "Yeah, there's something pretty important I need to tell you both. But before I do that, I need you to promise to let me talk and explain everything." I looked at them with a serious expression, and after they exchanged a brief glance of confusion, they slowly nodded my way.

Rubbing the back of my neck and desperately looking anywhere but at them, I said in what I hoped was a soothing voice, "Well, I have these neighbours, and I've become really good friends with them. They're really nice, and I've bonded with them nicely as a group. Angela likes them too. Downside is–well actually, it could be considered an upside, depending on how you view things–anyway… they're vampires."

There was a moment of stunned silence before all hell broke loose. Their concerned, condescending, and worrying tones melded together until nothing was discernable. Irritated beyond belief, I grabbed the reed whistle dangling around my neck and blew hard. The resulting noise was one that dogs would need to strain to hear, but it pierced our ears like a foghorn. I blew and blew until silence ensued.

After they fell silent, I held a finger up, and said slowly, "Y'all quieten down. We need some ground rules: one question at a time, and no interrupting, okay?" Rolling their eyes, they nodded. Corrin went first. He sounded angry and slightly worried.

"Why in the world did you not tell us the second you knew? Do you want to get hurt?" Already, he had broken a rule by asking two questions, but I knew that I had better let it slide; his current state didn't seem to radiate a joking atmosphere.

Sighing, I slowly explained, "Well, if I told you, there was a 99.99% chance you would have taken me out of Forks right away, and I wanted to stay for Angela's sake. By the way, her grandmother is recovering, but still fragile. Anyway, it's not like I can't take care of myself." To emphasise my point, I burst my hand into a ball of blazing red flames. Once they snuffed out, I started talking again. "They know mostly nothing about us or our past. Some snippets I've let loose, mostly accidental. I think they know I'm different, not human, but I don't think they know that for sure yet." Still unsatisfied, Corrin interrogated me again.

"That was…understandable. However, it was still incredibly stupid, beyond belief. But I guess that since you're still alive, they can't be all bad… Wait. What's their diet like?" His gruff voice still held a touch of annoyance.

Instantly excitedly, I answered, "They drink animal blood like us!"

Sophia smiled, happy at the news. "So how many are there?" she enquired with interest.

"There are seven of them," I informed them quickly.

As I took a breath to continue explaining, Corrin spluttered out, "_Seven_? Now that's way too many for you! They could have overwhelmed you!"

Rolling my eyes, I told them, "I can set them on fire. Pretty sure I can take care of myself here."

Corrin snorted. I took that as a sign to continue. Nervously, I told them about the Cullens. I concluded with, "I really like them, I do. They have seemed perfectly amiable in the timeframe I've known them. I know that two weeks doesn't seem like much, but I feel as though it's been a lot longer."

Lapsing into thoughtful silence, I crossed my fingers under the desk in hope that they would let me stay, and in the best-case scenario, that they'll let me tell the Cullens what I am. Corrin was wearing his "thinking face," where his brows were furrowed in concentration, and there was a slight frown tugging at the corner of his mouth. Sophia's eyes suddenly brightened, the grin spreading across her face showing her dimples. Slyly, she asked, "Do you like one of them?"

Flabbergasted, I stuttered before finally spitting out, "What makes you think that?"

Smirking knowingly, whilst Corrin seemed clueless, she said, "I only had an inkling. You may not realise it, honey, but you're glowing. Anyway, all that stuttering practically confirmed it. You might as well have said it out loud with a stamp on your forehead. Oh, and there's a bunch of roses on the desk behind you, and I know you never get flowers for yourself."

Knowing defeat when I saw it, I hesitantly told them, "I'm kind of dating Edward Cullen."

With that, another onslaught of babble ensued. Sophia was simply happy I had found someone who made me happy. She has always been the more forgiving type. Corrin, however, had kicked into full big-brother mode with questions galore. They both knew what I was capable of, and Sophia seemed to accept my independence more easily than Corrin. I think he still saw me as a little girl in his mind.

Quickly, I explained to Sophia about the dance while trying simultaneously to convince Corrin that Edward was nice and that he shouldn't set out to come down here and kill him. We talked for hours. I thanked my lucky stars that Angela was out with Ben, so I didn't have to whisper or codeword subjects. After the surprise died down, we began chatting more and more intently. As Sophia played mediator between Corrin and me, I told them everything they needed to know.

After what seemed like forever, we came to an agreement. Sometime during the week, they would pop down for a visit. I would get the Cullens to come over for dinner, and over this one conversation, my family would form their impressions and make their choice. It was the best I could get. Waving goodbye, I leant over and turned off the computer. Groaning, I leaned back and ran a hand through my hair.

I hoped the Cullens didn't screw up.

*******

School was doubly tedious now that I was anxious for my brother and sister-in-law to arrive. But a façade was always a large part of my life, so I was able to act as carefree as usual. Sometimes, I slipped up and let a little bit of my nerves show, but other than that, no one was really aware of what was brimming below the surface.

There was so much riding on the upcoming dinner. I decided not to tell the Cullens about my family's somewhat impromptu visit. Otherwise, if they were to know the full extent of our bargain, they would most likely act overly polite to them in an effort to convince them to let me stay. Sophia is incredibly attentive to detail, and she would probably see their politeness as a cover, a lie. I wished things were easier.

Edward acted a little differently this week—tenser, slightly aloof—but he was still the perfect boyfriend. I liked how he gave me space and didn't walk me to all of my classes like I've known some people to do. It irritated me when they did that; it was like they thought I was incapable of doing things myself. He hugged me and kissed me, but he wasn't a huge fan of public displays of affection. Luckily, I wasn't one for that either. It felt really nice how we clicked together so well.

During the week, he had shot several covert glances at Alice, as though they were sharing a private conversation. Curious, I wondered what they were doing. But if Edward or Alice did not tell me, I assumed that it was perhaps a family matter or something beyond my ears. Maybe it had something to do with the vampire world.

As my thoughts turned to the vampire world, I needed to hunt soon, but I decided to wait for Corrin and Sophia to come. Company made the entire ordeal a little better.

Speaking of ordeals, ever since Edward and I showed up at the dance together and then afterwards came out as boyfriend/girlfriend, the gossip surrounding us was worthy of a Hollywood celebrity. Girls were glaring daggers my way, and boys were scowling at Cullen. It wasn't too annoying, but at times it got way out of hand. Jessica was interrogating me non-stop and was frustrated that I really didn't tell her much.

The week passed by fairly quickly, things melding into one continuous blur. Then it was Friday, and there had yet to be word from my family. Right now, I was in Edward's arms in the cafeteria, chewing on an apple, zoning out from the conversation completely. I was deep in thought, trying in vain to guess the events of the future.

"Earth to Bella!" Alice was frantically waving her hand in front of my face in an attempt to receive some response from me, while the rest of the occupants of the table watched us in vague amusement. A mixture of a sigh and a groan left my lips, and I turned to Alice in mock weariness and said, "What is it?"

"Nothing, just wanted to snap you out of your daydream," she said cheekily. Rolling my eyes at her, I bit into my apple and looked at Angela. Her expression matched mine. Wordlessly, we agreed that Alice was slightly mentally unstable. Angela grinned and I smiled along with her. Opening my mouth in preparation for an amazingly witty retort, I was interrupted by Alice again when she squeaked out excitedly, "Oh, do you want to go out and see a movie this weekend?"

Shaking my head in a universal "no" gesture, I explained, "Nah, can't do that. I'm currently expecting guests to come soon. However, if they are up to it, then we can make it a group outing." Angela's head whipped around to meet mine, and with wide, confused eyes, she blurted out, "What guests? You have said nothing about this to me!"

Oops, Angela was a little finicky with guests, obsessively needing to make sure to prepare days in advance for their arrival. I guess that with my need to keep the Cullens out of the loop, I forgot about Angela.

Slapping my forehead, I muttered, "Knew I forgot _something_…" Then I looked up and grinned at her. But she was slightly frantic. "Bella, this is no joking matter! Who is coming? When are they coming?" she cried out, frowning at me. Giggling, I saw the rest of the table looking at me with intense curiosity.

"That's for me to know and you to find out when I tell you," I laughed, winking slyly at her. "Anyway, I think you'll appreciate it more if it's a surprise." Angela pursed her lips but said no more. I could tell she recognised my expression and knew that I wouldn't be budged on the subject. Emmett, however, seemed more persistent and curious.

"Who is it?" he repeated over and over again. If he thought this childish behaviour would break me and make me spill my guts, then he had another thing coming. Yet Emmett's loud line of questioning refused to fade into the background and once I finished my apple, I snapped at him, "Shut the hell up! You'll find out later. Stop bugging me!"

Slightly taken aback, but not so much so that he didn't have a comeback, he said, "Wow, Bella, why so wound up? Are you PMSing?" I swear, I nearly killed him then, but two things prevented me from reaching for Emmett's face: Edward holding my arms behind my back and my cell phone buzzing. Scowling at Emmett one last time before opening my phone, I suddenly realized I received a text message from Corrin.

_From: Corrin._

_We'll be there very soon! :-)  
Love from Corrin and Sophia._

Smiling brightly, my entire spiff with Emmett forgotten, I messaged them back as fast as I could. My fingers fumbled slightly on the keys, but I got it written down in the end.

_From: Bella._

_Finally! Took you long enough!  
By the way, what did you wear to  
the fancy dress party?_

As soon as I turned back to the table, my phone buzzed again. Eagerly, I opened the phone and saw that Corrin sent a picture alongside the message. It was a snapshot of Corrin and Sophia dressed up as Shrek and Princess Fiona, respectively. Their costumes were simply hilarious. Possibly worse than the Transylvanian vampire costume. They were hugging each other, smiling at the camera.

It warmed the cockles of my heart to see them, even just a photo of them. Quickly, I made it my display picture. That photo would be good for a laugh.

_From: Corrin._

_Sophia made me wear it. :-(  
Count Dracula would have been  
way better._

Writing back a final time, I suddenly noticed that I had half the table's attention on me. Emmett and Rosalie were having a "moment" staring deep into each other's eyes, but everyone else was regarding me in mild curiosity. Before I addressed them, I wanted to complete my reply.

_From: Bella._

_Ha ha! You both look hilarious.  
Talk later. Bye, love you both._

Jasper spoke first, "Who was that?" Edward, Angela, and Alice looked upon me with interest, but I just waved off the comment and said, "Oh, you don't have to worry about it." Alice seemed intent on questioning me further, but the bell rang. Saved by the bell. How clichéd. I wrapped my arm around Edward's stomach and walked off with him and Angela to Gym. As we walked, I let my mind wander. It had been doing that a lot lately. Maybe I should get a chain on it or something so I can concentrate better.

_Shrek_. What an interesting choice for costumes. I've always liked the movie. It was like a new age type of fairytale. Usually fairytales pissed me off with their inaccurate and bias portrayal of anyone of the feminine persuasion. While there are a few exceptions, fairy tales often portray females as either evil or stupid. _Shrek _was definitely a winner for me. The bad guy was a someone who had serious inferiority issues, and the heroine could hold her own, tough and independent. Win.

I also liked how she fell for Shrek when he was a monster. She saw his inner beauty. Not to mention, it helped when she became a monster too. My brows furrowed as I realized that _Shrek_'s plot was uncannily similar to the way my life was heading. I was currently dating a "monster" and he most likely thought I was a human or something close enough to that. If all went well at dinner, then, like in the movie, he would find out, too. I couldn't wait to see his expression when I told him.

Sighing, I pulled out of this line of thought. Once again, I was reading way too much into something. I really had to learn to take things at face value. We entered the gymnasium, and I split from Edward to change.

Gym was certainly interesting. We were playing volleyball and Mike seemed to make it his goal to create as much bodily harm to me possible with a ball and without getting in trouble. It seems he still held a minor grudge for the cafeteria incident. He only finished detentions yesterday. At every serve, he aimed at me. Normally, I dodged them, but a few hit me.

As Edward was on a different court, he couldn't help me, but he certainly looked like he wanted to; his face was painted with a mask of hatred directed towards Mike. Angela looked at me and helped me up with sympathy, but she knew I could look after myself. Usually, I could keep my temper locked up, but after this past tense week and the third ball to hit me in the forehead, I snapped.

The team rotated positions, and it was finally my turn to serve. Positioning the ball in my hand, I aimed for his stomach, hitting it hard enough to leave him more than winded. Bad news was I missed. Good news was I hit his groin, and he was rolling around the floor, tears springing in his eyes, knee-jerk reaction to the pain. Tears were gathering in my eyes too, but they were tears of laughter. I was doubled over, arms clutching my sides, as I laughed and laughed. Many other people were laughing, too.

As Coach Clapp led Mike to the bench, I heard Mike accuse me in hoarse voice, "Bella did that to me on purpose! Give her a detention or something!" _How dare he accuse me_!

A low growl built in my throat, but then I heard the coach mutter, "What about all the balls that you sent her way? Don't think that I didn't notice, son." Mike's flabbergasted face sent me into another fit of giggles.

On the walk to Biology, Edward asked if I was okay, and I reassured him that I was. It was worth it. Anyway, I was a tough girl. I felt more relaxed than I had done all week. The good laugh left me feeling buoyant. Edward chuckled too, and I knew he was remembering Mike curled up on the floor.

We sat next to each other and worked on genetics. The subject was interesting to me, but Mr. Banner's presentation nearly bored me to tears. I think he was intimidated by me; ever since the first week, he had stopped interrogating me and tried to avoid looking or talking to me in any way. Corrin was going to laugh his head off when I told him about this guy.

There were ten minutes left before the bell and everyone was released home. School has always been a minor ordeal, but today was different. Today, I was waiting for two of the most important people in my life to turn up. Usually, Edward and I talked during the class, but today it seemed we were content in silence. He was rubbing the back of my hand with his as I stared blankly out the window. A light drizzle was coming down, and the outside world looked like it was submerged in mist and fog. It looked like the perfect setting for some gothic fairytale. Hmm, my life: the gothic fairytale. Has a ring to it.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle rent through the air. It was a sound higher than any dog could comprehend, and yet I was perfectly able to hear it. Easily, I recognised it as Corrin's reed whistle. The thought alone brought a wide smile to my face. My head whipped around to the source of the noise, and I saw it was coming from the car park. The mist hindered my sight, so I was unable to get a clear picture.

Pulling my own whistle from below my sweater, I blew two sharp whistles to tell Corrin that I had gotten the message. We often used our whistles to communicate, whether during hunting or playing games. Our whistles each had slightly different pitches, which made it easy for us to distinguish who was calling and from where.

My heart was beating double-time at the thought of encountering Corrin and Sophia again, and I couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to pull a stunt on Mr. Banner. Purposely, I drained the blood out of my face and groaned, hugging my stomach. The teacher looked at me with an odd expression. It looked as though I was sick to the stomach and was close to puking up my lunch. So my request to leave the room was granted instantly.

Edward seemed incredibly worried about me, after all—I did look pretty sick—but I winked at him covertly. He was confused but got the message. After I stumbled out of the room, I straightened up and hurried to the parking lot. My sneakers squeaked as I ran, but I didn't care. Throwing the front doors open in a somewhat dramatic gesture, I scanned the parking lot for any sign of my brother and/or sister-in-law.

After several seconds, I saw Corrin leaning against Angela's car. He was just like I remembered, obviously. His muscled yet lean frame was relaxed against the vehicle, his brown curls damp from the misty rain. From my viewpoint, I could see his brown eyes land on me. The corners of his mouth pulled into a broad grin.

Before I could stop myself, I ran and flung myself at him in a hug. His arms returned the gesture, and he twirled me around in a few circles before gently putting back down on the ground. We were both laughing in joy, ecstatic to finally be reunited. It was several months since we had been parted and the only change I could see in him was that his hair was a little longer, a little messier, but the rain could have caused that.

"Hello, little sister," he muttered affectionately into my ear. "You reek of a vampire." he told me with a crinkled nose.

I just shook my head and smiled, and then replied, "Hello, big brother." If possible, his smile got bigger.

My shield instinctively enveloped his frame. Ever since the day our parents were unjustifiably killed, my shield always moved to protect him, regardless if we were in danger or not. After we met with Sophia and we connected, my shield went out to protect her too. It was very handy, as it would be a nuisance to have to think about it all the time.

His face scrunched up as he looked at me and jokingly commented, "Did you have a growth spurt or something?" I laughed; he knew that I had not grown an inch for at least a century and a few decades, maybe even longer than that. So I rolled my eyes at him and asked an important question, "Can you tell me if any of the vampires here have abilities?"

Like Annalie and me, Corrin had his own talent—he was able to distinguish vampire abilities. Our dad had told us that he only knew one other vampire who could do that. They were apparently good friends, but after the Victoria fiasco, he didn't want to chance that happening again, so he isolated all his friends. We had never met, but I knew a bit about him. Eleazar, I think his name was. Corrin always complained that it was a lame ability, but it had come in handy many times in the past.

Closing his eyes in concentration, he muttered, "In the building you just vacated, there's a telepathic: a mind reader." I gasped; Edward could read minds? Corrin's arm suddenly shot out and pointed to a building that I knew held Alice's art class. "There's a vampire there who is psychic. He or she can see the future. And finally," he pointed to a building that I was pretty sure held Jasper's modern history class, "there is someone who is an empathic, someone who can feel and change emotions."

Jesus. That was amazing. One powered-up vampire in a coven was good enough, but _three_? When Corrin opened his eyes, I told him who had what ability in my opinion. "Can any of them pierce my shield?" I questioned. Shaking his head, he said, "Nah, your shield is too strong. But that psychic is slightly unnerving; never have I met someone who can see the future." Thank goodness my shield was strong enough. If Edward had heard any of the thoughts that had gone through my head…

Suddenly, I noticed that Sophia was missing in action. I was so wrapped up with Corrin, I momentarily forgot about Sophia. "Where's Sophia?" I blurted out.

Corrin answered, "She's at your place, making a lasagna or something. She didn't want to wait for you in the rain, and she wanted to get a head start on dinner. But I couldn't wait." My stomach growled at the thought of lasagna. Blood rushed to my cheeks and inflamed them to a rosy red colour. Corrin obviously heard my stomach growl as he laughed a big booming laugh.

Leaning in and giving me a peck on the forehead, he chuckled, "Ah, you're the same as ever. Nice to know I haven't missed much."

Scoffing, I rebutted with, "Ha! I made friends with a huge coven of vampires, and you say you did not miss out on anything. I beg to differ!"

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Whatever. I'll be meeting them soon too, you know."

The bell went off, but I barely registered it. "Corrin, if you even think about interrogating my boyfriend, you will need to sleep with one eye open. Got it?"

He raised an eyebrow but didn't agree. Frowning, I opened my mouth to make sure that he didn't revert into the overbearingly protective brother when he was introduced to my friends. But he waved his hands and told me dismissively, "Yeah, yeah."

His dismissive tone did nothing to help me calm down, and he knew it. So he tilted my chin up and looked me straight in the eye. "Don't worry. I'll play nice – for now." Sighing, I knew that was probably the best I'd get from him. As we were both as stubborn as the other, we had learned to accept compromise.

Our conversation was interrupted by a shrill squeal, and I had only enough time to get out of the way of an oncoming body rushed towards Corrin. Angela was the one that had run up and hugged Corrin tightly around the middle. Ever since they had met each other in Alaska, they had become taken with one another. The hug nearly threw Corrin off, but he steadied himself. It was hard to hold back my laughter at the sight. "It's nice to see you too, Angela," said Corrin in an affectionate tone.

"Angela, you are _so _lucky that Ben's sick at home and not here because that display of affection would have surely stoked the fires of jealousy within him," I teased Angela as she still hugged Corrin tightly. If he were human, I think he would have been suffocating. Always the mature one, Angela stuck her tongue out at me before letting go. Then the onslaught of questions came.

"Oh, so you're the guest? When did you plan this? Why didn't you tell me straight away? You have to visit more often. Where's Sophia?" The questions started to meld into one another, so I put my hands to my mouth and bput two fingers in my mouth and blew one of those whistles that could stop a taxi dead in the middle of New York. Half the populous of the car park looked at me, but I ignored them. "One question at a time, Angela. Anyway, we can talk better at home." The rain was still misty and light, but I did not want to chance getting drenched to the bone.

A slight cough behind me alerted me to the presence of all the Cullens. Blushing brightly and praying for the best, I quickly introduced everyone to Corrin and vice versa. Alice was bubbly as always, and Corrin seemed to like her. But when I introduced him to Edward, he frowned slightly, and I had to give him a glare to remind him to be civil. As he shook hands with Rosalie, he didn't even bat an eyelash over her looks. Sophia had taken his heart, and no one could ever make him think otherwise. Emmett made a joke that broke the ice, and everyone began talking.

Walking over to Edward's side, I muttered in his ear, "Please don't worry about Corrin. He can be a bit of an overbearing git sometimes." I knew Corrin could hear, but he didn't react as though he heard anything. Edward smiled and simply said, "It's nice to meet your family."

Alice squealed and said, "Bella, we should go out to the movies to better get to know one another!" Corrin looked at me pointedly, and I knew it was time to invite them over to dinner. "Err, well, actually I was wondering if you, Esme, and Carlisle would all like to come round for dinner with us tomorrow evening. I'm sure Sophia would like to meet you."

"Sophia?" Rosalie questioned. Nodding, Corrin held his left hand and flashed his plain platinum wedding band while he explained, "The wife." Everyone, apart from Angela and I looked slightly shocked; with good reason, I guess. He did look fairly young to be married.

Jasper cleared his throat and said, "We'll ask them tonight and call you later."

"That sounds good," I said. At this point, we were forced to say goodbyes, as the rain was getting slightly heavier. As Corrin and Angela climbed into the truck, I swiftly got on the tips of my toes and kissed Edward on the cheek. He hugged me good-bye and whispered in my ear, "I'll see you later." Grinning at him, I got into the passenger side of the truck, and Corrin raised an eyebrow at me.

"They weren't as bad as I imagined," he told me somewhat reluctantly. I just looked at him with a "_told you so_" expression plastered on my face. Angela, Corrin, and I rode home with comfortable conversation, mainly concerning Sophia and his travels. He told some of the truth to Angela, leaving only the bits out concerning the search for Annalie.

It was such a relief to know that their first meeting wasn't a total train wreck, and they seemed to get along fairly well. The entire thing went better than I had hoped. Now all that needed to happen was dinner, and I would be scot-free. Even in my mind, that sounded terribly pessimistic.

The second we arrived home, I jumped out and ran through the front door. My olfactory sense was assaulted by the smell of cooking. There was the aroma of tomatoes and various herbs wafting in the air. Heavenly. Scurrying to the source of the smell, I made it into the kitchen in time to see a flour-covered Sophia placing a tray of lasagna into the oven.

Running up to her, I hugged her with as much enthusiasm as I had with Corrin, perhaps even more, because I knew she was just finished with dinner. The flour and tomato sauce that caked her arms and apron didn't bother me; clothes could be changed. Sophia's arms hugged me back gingerly; she seemed hesitant to mess up my outfit. Taking a step back, eyes twinkling, Sophia said, "It's good to see you, too. Nice place." She waved her arm around in an offhand gesture.

Grinning, I replied, "It's modest." Then I had a closer look at the kitchen. How could I have missed the fact that it now resembled a war zone? It looked as though a bomb of food had just exploded here. Flour, onions and tomatoes littered the cutting bench, and there were sheets of pasta on the counter. The sink was nearly full with pots, plates, bowls and cutlery.

Open-mouthed, I just stared at Sophia, who was now looking very happy indeed, and muttered, "What the hell happened here?" Proudly, Sophia said, "Made the lasagna from scratch, all by myself."

My face consisted of blank shock, and I yelped, "You are _so_ helping me clean up the mess!"

Sophia smirked and nonchalantly said, "Nope. I did the cooking; you can do the cleaning."

_No way_! This place was a bomb site! So I began to argue about this arrangement. Somehow, we started throwing flour at one another and then tomatoes as I got my hands on some. Angela and Corrin entered the kitchen after they had finished a tour of the house, and it was a war zone. Sophia was ducking behind the counter, and I was using a large pan as a shield from tomatoes.

Then Sophia threw a piece of pasta at me and, as I ducked, it sailed over my head, and it whacked Corrin in the face. Silence. Slowly, he peeled off the wet noodle, and Sophia and I tensed. But he grinned and joined in the fun. Food was flying everywhere, and Angela was caught in the crossfire. We were laughing hysterically the entire time. It was so much fun!

Half an hour later, we finally got a grip on ourselves and stopped. All of us were out of breath, yet our faces were adorned with huge smiles. After a bit of convincing, I got Angela to take the first shower, so the rest of us could clean up at super-human speeds. When Angela came down the steps, rubbing her wet hair dry with a towel, the kitchen was spotless. Her jaw dropped, which set Corrin, Sophia and I into another round of giggles.

"How did you guys clean up so fast?" she asked in an awed voice.

"Many hands make light work?" Sophia used as an excuse. Corrin and I nodded our heads. Angela apologised for not helping clean up, but we waved off her concerns. Sophia took the next shower, then Corrin. Admirably, I volunteered to have the last shower. As I was drying my hair, the lasagna was finished, and we finally settled down for dinner.

Dinner was wonderful. Conversation flowed as easily as breathing. Sophia and Corrin described the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Louvre. Many more monuments were mentioned from their "trip around Europe." When we finished eating dessert – which consisted of ice cream and fudge – Angela excused herself to call Ben. Taking advantage of Angela's absence, Sophia and Corrin changed their voices to whispers and hurriedly began to tell me about Annalie.

"We were late coming here because we almost got her. Annalie was hiding near the ruins of the Berlin Wall, and we were so close to coming into contact with her," Corrin muttered in his usual husky voice. He sounded disappointed. For years, he had wanted us to be a family again. Even with Annalie persistently trying to end my life, she was still my sister.

"Her movements have been erratic and almost random. I think she keeps changing her mind. Sometimes her movements suggested she wants to come and talk, and at other times, it seems her goal is to get as far away from us as possible," Sophia murmured to me. Frowning, I wondered how long this would go on. Wouldl she ever forgive me for something I had no control over?

Angela walked back in, happy from her conversation with Ben. In an instant, our slightly downcast expressions were changed into broad grins. It was all an act. Angela bought the smiles, albeit with a slightly suspicious expression, but didn't question us.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. "Hey, how did you guys get inside the house? I never gave you a key, and there are no signs of breaking and entering."

Corrin looked at me as though it was blatantly obvious. "Bella, you always hide the spare key in the same place: under the fake rock near the door. Not that hard for someone like me to figure it out. By the way, all our stuff is already in the guest bedroom, so I hope you don't mind."

Scowling, I made a mental note to change the position of the spare key to somewhere else. But at the comment that they were settling in, I smiled. It would be good to have them around for a while. Life seemed brighter with them in it.

*******

**A/N: Aww, wasn't that awesome? :-)**

**The dinner won't be next. You'll experience it first hand in the next few chapters. Serious plot movements in the near future!**

**Have some raw cookie dough for a snack. I have just realized how yummy it is. *Laughs*.**


	9. Show Time

_**Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.** _

**A/N: By the way, my loyal readers, this is **_**not **_**the dinner scene. Do y'all think I'd give it up so easily? *Laughs*. :-)**

**This chapter is dedicated to the wonderfully eccentric **_**FadedFeathers**_** ! Our witty banter makes me feel like I'm not the only crazy person out there. But really, she's awesome. :-)**

**Disclaimer: This is not intended for any copy write infringement. I know Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and their characters. However, I have full license over Corrin, Annalie and Sophia!**

*******

**BPOV**

I held the gun with a firm grasp, my eyes darting around warily, looking endlessly for my prey. My nose twitched as I tried to get some scent, some smell, some _sign_ that my target was near. All I heard was the birds and creatures scurrying around the forest. Adjusting the harder-than-metal-but-as-clear-as-glass goggles protecting my eyes, I checked my gun to see if it had enough ammunition for the task ahead.

Paint ball with the family was an intense experience.

It was nothing like the human equivalent of the sport. For one, we played outside in wild areas, like forests or dense bush. Going into the set up areas was like child's play for us. Another thing was that the equipment that we used was more dangerous than the official standardized stuff. I had spent hours specially designing and building the guns, and Corrin made the special paint ball ammunition. As we were much tougher than humans, we needed more punch in the pellets.

They still had the same colorful quality to them, but with the added bonus of being partially made from concrete. They barely stung us though, somewhat like a human getting a small sharp rock thrown at them. However, they were able to dent the brick wall we tested them out on. If we added any more rock into the mixture, then they would break the guns – even with my special design. But if we were to get hit in the same spot multiple times, then yes, it hurt quite a bit, depending on distance and amount of times you got hit.

Sophia was concerned that if we got hit in the eye, that would have side effects, so she constructed especially strong goggles that withstood the pellets. Other than that, we were unconcerned with the need for protective gear.

This game required more skill than the original, as with this one, all the players possessed heightened senses and we needed to get hit several times to receive an ache. But in that way it was good too. The game kept us in shape, so we learned how to be as quiet as the night sky and as invisible as the shadows in an alleyway. Not that we'd ever say it, but it also helped Corrin and Sophia get as close as they did to Annalie.

It was so easy to remember back a decade ago, when Corrin first presented the idea of "Hybrid Paint Ball", as he christened it so fondly...

_~Flashback~_

"Come on, there is nothing to do here!" cried out Corrin in exasperation.

Groaning, I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to go out hunting, but Corrin seemed intent on doing something physical. Sophia was trying to do some yoga, and it was hard to discern her expression while she was upside down, but I think she was with me on it.

As he saw our expressions, he flopped down onto the sofa in defeat, a scowl gracing his features. He was in desperate need of a new hobby. He was sick of all sports for various reasons, mainly because our strength and obvious advantages made us unable us to play with humans properly. As for reading and doing something arts and crafty, he just wasn't the type. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy reading, but he had read nearly every book we had more than twenty times. Add that on with a picture perfect memory, and it was understandable to see why he needed to get out and do something.

"Honey, maybe another time," said Sophia as soothingly as possible as she was still trying to balance precariously on her head, her black hair splayed all over the carpet. Corrin just snorted and lapsed into deep thought, obviously trying to figure out something to occupy his time with.

Ignoring him, I turned back to my castle of cards. On tiptoe, on a stepladder, I was trying to finish the twentieth floor, but the cards in my hands didn't want to stand properly. Frustrating to say the least. As I finally made them balance, I moved my hands away slowly, not wanting to disturb the castle in any way. Hopefully the end result would look like the Empire State Building. Well, that's what I was aiming for.

Turning back to the castle with another pair of cards in my hand, I was concentrating hard, my tongue between my teeth, when Corrin suddenly jumped up from the sofa and jumped up in triumph. The sudden movement and sound surprised the hell out of me and caused me to jump off the stepladder and face first into my tower. I yelped and hit the ground, a loud resulting thump from the impact. Luckily it didn't hurt.

After the cards stopped fluttering around my head, I turned to Corrin who was jumping on the spot excitedly. "You better have had a good reason for that shout. I swear if it was for something stupid, I will make sure that you will never be able to sleep again without one eye open. Understand?" I snarled at him. Sophia was lying on her back, falling for the same reason as me, but she was stifling her giggles.

A low growl built up in my chest and that encouraged Corrin to hurry up and explain. "I have a fantastic idea! Let's play paint ball!" he told the both of us in his deep voice, brimming with childlike enthusiasm. Frowning, I just stared at him. Was that all? We tried paint ball before and we couldn't even feel the pellets hitting our bare skin at point blank range. What was the point? I told him as much, paraphrasing it slightly.

Shaking his head before I was done, he interrupted me slightly, "No, that wasn't what I meant. Human paint ball is lame."

"Than what do you suggest?" snorted Sophia in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Let's make our own version... And we shall call it "Hybrid Paint Ball"!" he cried out with punching the air. Sophia buried her head in her hands to stifle the laughter.

_~End Flashback~_

It took extremely long to perfect the weapons and the ammunition, even with our extra speed and superior intelligence. But in the end it was worth it. And it was even better to know that this was an exclusive game for our family; it makes every moment more special.

How did we come from dinner to paint ball?

Well, when Angela went to bed after dinner, Corrin, Sophia and I were not tired so we went outside to hunt and talk. Corrin told Sophia that the Cullen's seemed nice enough, but he still held suspicions. For the first time in ages, I hunted with company. It was great. Corrin knew that killing animals upset me, no matter how painless I made it, so he distracted me by making me laugh.

Sophia aimed as usual for the bears (although her favourite are the lions that roam Africa, which due to their endangered status, she rarely gets to have as a treat), and Corrin rattled around the forest looking for mountain lions. That left me with the elk and deer, which I had no argument against. Both of them knew that it was my favourite. Downing three of them before the burning was quenched; I sought out Corrin and Sophia who were several hundred feet away. Sophia was grinning ear to ear, just having drained two humongous bears, and Corrin was stretching on the ground in lazy contentment.

We spent the better part of the night out here, so it was a good thing we needed little sleep. It was one of the few times I actually thought needing a short amount of sleep was a good thing.

After we watched the sun rise through a small gap in the clouds, we all hurried back home to make breakfast, mainly for Angela's benefit. Pancakes lathered in maple syrup were always a winner. For about an hour, we sat around the dining table surrounded by comfortable conversation.

Angela then left to go check up on Ben – who was still ill with the flu – I went and showed Corrin and Sophia the beautiful clearing I used for fire bending. Sophia gasped; she loved the stark simplicity of it all. Corrin made a grunt of approval; he was appraising the sight and I knew he was getting ready to fight me. I hadn't practiced with them in ages, so we had a long overdue session.

Corrin was always a good challenge in a battle, however when he and I went at it, usually I was the victor. Nowadays, for him to win, he needed some backup from Sophia. As this was a slight blow on his ego, he always tried to beat me alone at first, but he knew that I was too good. I always practiced more, and because I had more teachers, I was more skilled. Grinning at me, he mocked me, trying to taunt me into a playful fight. Shrugging nonchalantly, I turned away, which lowered his guard. Then I leapt on him.

We were caught up in a fierce battle, both of us trying to gain the upper hand. Corrin was stronger than me by a smidgen, but I was much more skilled. Sophia was on my right and I could tell by her stance that it was going to be two-on-one battle. At the same time, with no communication between them, she knew the exact moment to leap on me. Sometimes I was amazed about how in sync they were sometimes. They were two halves of a whole.

Hand to hand combat was all that we did in play fights. Never have I fought them with fire. It would burn them, as my concentration would be too scattered to be able to shield them. So it was all up to brawn and skill.

After an hour, I had finally gained the upper hand on the both of them and they conceded defeat. But the entire thing was all in good fun. They practiced fighting with me so I kept fit if Annalie was ever to make an appearance. With Annalie, I restrained from fighting her as much as I could, usually trying to talk first. Only when she attacked did I make a move. Without a conscious decision, I was tracing a bite scar that was on my wrist, a little to the left of the vein. For good reason, Annalie always aimed for arteries and veins, as they would spread the venom quicker.

Laughing at my siblings, who were huffing from being a bit worn out, I sighed and looked at the stormy clouds above. I wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. The rain was getting old. Without warning, a very hard, very fast moving object tackled me to the side, leaving me slightly winded. It was Corrin and before I could gain enough breath to ask what the hell he was doing, he began to tickle my sides shamelessly. Not long after Sophia joined in.

They knew me long enough to know precisely where my weak tickle points were and they aimed there. Screeching and hollering for mercy, they never let up. It was torture, yet cries of laughter were coming out of me, mixed with half-hearted yells of fury. Eventually, I used a self-defense trick I learned a couple of decades ago, and tripped both Corrin and Sophia on their backs. The surprised and clueless looks on their faces made me laugh; not a very good idea as my sides still ached a bit.

It was then that Corrin had one of those comical 'light bulb moments', and he remembered that he packed the paint ball equipment in one of the bags he brought over. The mention of it alone made me squeal in delight. Nothing was as thrilling, yet as safe as a good game of 'Hybrid Paint Ball". Admittedly, it wasn't too safe for a human being, but hey, they weren't the ones playing.

About ten minutes after he mentioned it, we had set up and split up. There was a traditional five minutes of no shooting, so we could set up. Then the game was on.

I had hit Corrin several times, mainly because he made it too easy for me. He wasn't really one for stealth. His tactic was more out in the open. Ironically, it did work to an extent as he hit me as many times as I hit him. But we were both well aware that it was all in good fun. A method I liked to use was to aim for the goggles. As the paint was tough to remove, it would temporarily blind the person I was aiming for. Sophia was the sneakiest of us all. Sometimes, you can't tell she's there until it's too late.

At the moment, there was nothing around me. I heard some noises to my right, very far away, but they sounded more animalistic than anything else. The fact that my siblings weren't here right now double-teaming me was disconcerting. Usually they'd be all over me and I'd be putting up a fierce fight. I'd bet they were planning something big…

Walking backwards slowly, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Corrin or Sophia. What was originally a long sleeved pale green cotton shirt was now a work of art. Splatters of colour dotted the fabric, no sign of pattern, all erratic. Sophia hit me many times, but all in different spots, so it didn't really hurt. She always did have an erratic aim, and never really did see the point of practicing. It was my fault I got hit this time; she caught me after I lost my footing in the tree I was hiding in.

The animalistic shuffling noises were getting closer to me and then I realized they weren't animals. Quickly, I spun the gun around, finger on the trigger. But it wasn't Sophia or Corrin. It was Jasper and Edward. Relaxing my stance and my grip on the gun, I jostled the weapon so I was holding it one-handed, limp by my side. The guys looked quite apprehensive at the "weapon" I was wielding, eying it with curiosity.

Grinning broadly, we exchanged hellos. Edward came over and gave me a kiss regardless of the paint of my face or the gun in my hand. Then I asked what they were doing out here. Obviously I knew they were hunting; I just wanted to hear their excuses.

Before I forgot, I blew my whistle sharply once, to warn the others that the game was paused. With a slightly puzzled expression, the boys turned to me, silently asking what all that was about. I just shrugged. Jasper cleared his throat said in response to my question, "Oh, Edward and I were just hiking." There were only so many times you can use hiking as a cover before it gets so boring. Raising an eyebrow, Edward asked in turn, "What about you Bella? What are you doing out here? With a ominous looking gun, might I just add."

Smiling, I just explained, "Paint ball with the family. Got to love it." With my free hand, I indicated the many paint stains covering my clothes. Understanding lit their eyes, and Edward said in a worried tone, "Don't you need more protection than that? Paint balls can bruise you quite heavily can't they?"

Rolling my eyes, I told them, "I'm a tough girl. Seriously, I'm stronger than I look."

Before I could say any more, I felt my elastic shield tug to protect someone who was somewhere behind me. However, I was too slow to react to the indication that one of my siblings were right behind me and then two pellets hit me directly in the back of my head. With a shocked expression, I saw Corrin standing behind me, looking mightily pleased with himself. Currently waving hello to Edward and Jasper, it made my blood boil. He should play by the rules! Cursing under my breath, I turned to him angrily and shouted, "What the hell was that for? We were on _pause_!"

"Oh really?" he replied in a fake innocent voice. "I apologize then. But I guess that means you can't shoot back now can you?" He had a point there. But the situation would be easily fixed. Smirking, I blew my whistle twice indicating the restart of the game. Startled that I did that – probably expecting that I'd talk to the vampires some more – he bolted, weaving in and out of the trees, making himself an erratic target. Neither of us could run at full speeds with witnesses, so I didn't bother.

In a competition, he was the better and dodging and diving, but I was the better shooter. Though my skills couldn't be put into use in the World Wars, as at that point female oppression was still running riot. Obviously we supported the Allies in World War II, and I was stuck with nursing duties, while Corrin got to play hero. At least Sophia kept me company; though she had to leave at times, as the blood was fairly overwhelming at points. Shouldering the gun, I shot several rounds, a couple of them hitting him on the back, but he didn't even stumble or anything. Damn him.

A low growl built in my chest and remembering my audience, I turned to Jasper and Edward to say a hurried goodbye, "So, it was very nice to see you, but I have to go and hunt down my brother. I'll see you both at dinner." With that I kissed Edward again briefly on the cheek and smiled at Jasper, ignoring their slightly startled expressions.

Jogging in the direction Corrin went, I made sure that I ran fast enough so that I didn't trip over my feet. Looking back once over my shoulder, I yelled, "Hope you guys have a huge appetite!"

Once out of sight of the Cullen's I started running in a much faster sprint, a little slower than my faster pace, and followed Corrin's scent markers. I owed him two pellets in the back of his head. While I ran, I let my mind wander, I and thought about how it was odd how that I always tripped when I walked or ran at a human pace. But when I went super fast, I was graceful. Maybe I should enter a class that teaches posture or something. There is an eternity for me to learn to be graceful, I guess.

Keeping my senses on high alert for Corrin and or Sophia, I let my mind wander to the dinner. Before, I was planning to make a very, very simple, light meal that wouldn't be too strenuous for vampires to eat. If Angela wasn't there, then I'd suggest that they wouldn't need to eat at all. But I remembered what happened to change my mind…

_~Flashback~_

Talking animatedly to Corrin and Sophia, happy to see them after so long, my mind was vaguely aware of the images that were being shown on the nightly news. Angela was upstairs, brushing her teeth.

"… Well renowned _psychic_, Madam Rosetta has won the lottery! She says it's all thanks to her ability to see the future … and now here's the _weather_ …" The noises of the television wafted in and out of my head, but then those sentences made a connection.

When I went to the Cullen's house, the intense hailstorm forced me to stay over. Before, I thought nothing of it. No one can control the weather and predicting it wasn't a perfect science. It wasn't the Cullen's fault, the weather report stated light rains. But Alice was psychic. That's what Corrin said.

Alice being a psychic meant that she must have known about the weather. Even though I specifically said, "No", she planned on me staying over. Everything clicked into place. No wonder why Alice looked guilty, and no wonder why she was so prepared.

The sleepover was actually an enjoyable experience, but that gave her no right to go against my wishes. She knew I did not want to do it, yet nonetheless she proceeded with her scheme. Free will was something she needed to grasp the concept of. Sophia looked at me with concern as she saw my face steadily heated up. My features were arranged in a scowl.

"Bella, what's up?" asked Sophia worriedly. Frowning, I explained the sudden realization I had. Corrin was frowning too, but Sophia was looking at me with a confused expression.

"Honey, didn't you say that you really liked the sleepover?" she inquired. Nodding slowly, I quickly began explaining. "It's not that the event was good or not, it was the fact that she is a manipulative little pixie with little or no regard for people's requests!" I ranted.

Corrin raised an eyebrow questioningly. "So... you don't like them anymore or what?" he asked, severely confused. Shaking my head, I replied, "I don't hate them. Actually I consider them family and hope that you see them the same way soon enough. It's just..." I trailed off, lost for words to describe my feelings.

"Hmm, it sounds like you want some revenge," said Sophia in a casual voice. Stunned, I just looked at for a second before hurriedly enveloping her in a tight hug. Smiling, eyes sparking with mischief, I said adoringly, "Sophia, what did I ever do without you?"

"You'd be dwelling for ages and probably end up confronting them about it. But where's the fun in that? I take it you think the revenge idea is adequate?" she answered back cheekily.

Rolling my eyes, I ignored her rhetorical question and asked a much more important question in turn, "What are we going to do for revenge?" Sophia's face scrunched up into an expression that I've seen on her face multiple times – usually when we are planning surprises or pranks on Corrin. Truly, I was expecting Sophia to come up with a brilliant idea, but instead Corrin piped up.

"Why don't we just make them eat a lot of food at the upcoming dinner? From what mom and dad said about human food, that's revenge enough," he said in mildly amused voice. "Not only that, but they can't refuse the food we give them; they have to give off a good impression, being guests and all."

Frowning, I said, "But that means all the Cullen's have to suffer. Only Alice did anything."

"Ahh, but they surely know about her powers and if they were going to keep a "human" over night then they'd need to prepare the house. So you could say that they were accomplices," inserted Sophia dryly.

Mulling this over, I realized how right she was. Smiling evilly, I nodded eager for the plan to be put in place. This would definitely be fun. Sophia ran to the kitchen and grabbed a notepad, making a list of ingredients we'd need for the huge meal we'd be putting together.

Although I was the one giving the most suggestions, Sophia, Corrin and I knew it'd be best if Sophia did the actual writing. My handwriting was no better than a messy scribble. Literally at times, my scrawl was mostly ineligible, even to me sometimes. Funnily enough, even with me complaining about it for over a century and a half, never have I ever sought out help to correct and neaten it. Maybe it was time to go to a calligraphy class or something.

The home phone started ringing and without looking at the Caller ID, I assumed it to be a telemarketer. So I answered in an irritated tone, "Hello?"

"Hi Bella, this is Edward. Did I wake you?" Edward's smooth voice filtered through the speaker and I hurriedly decided to put the plan into place. Corrin and Sophia gave me a grin and the thumbs up as they realized what we were about to do.

"Oh Edward, hi! No, no. You didn't wake me up. I'm just a little peeved after a sudden epiphany I got," I hinted that bit, because I knew it would instantly make him curious. Corrin and Sophia hit me with warning glances, but I looked at them in a way to tell them that I knew what I was doing.

"May I inquire to what you learned in this epiphany?" he asked. Hook, line and sinker, he was curious. I knew that it would irritate the hell out of him. For some weird reason, he had to know everything. Probably stems from being a telepathic. He must have been shocked out of his mind when he couldn't read mine.

But I had to get a few things out of the way before I could plant the seed for revenge. All the revenge plans were meant in a playful way, not serious. If I wanted serious revenge, I'd kill them.

Victoria was on that hit list. Pushing that thought out of my head, I continued talking.

"Nah, won't bore you with the details," I said in an offhand tone. "Can I ask as to why you are calling though?" That was what I needed to know.

"I just wanted you to know that we will all indeed be coming. Carlisle and Esme are especially keen on meeting your family," he told me quickly. Excellent. I grinned and so did my siblings. They obviously heard him. Sometimes having super hearing was extremely convenient.

"Oh good! I hope you guys have huge appetites for tomorrow! My sister is planning a _huge _meal. Sometimes I think she's a bit like Alice; an unstoppable force of nature with boundless energy," I told him, grinning like an idiot the entire time.

"Err, Bella..." he was about to make some horrible excuse, and I hurried to intercept and add some notes that would definitely guilt trip them into eating.

"My sister loves cooking for visitors and loves hearing critique on her food!" There was a pause and I knew that he was still trying to get out of the eating part, so I quickly said my goodbyes and hung up.

Putting the phone back onto it charging dock, I turned to my family and rubbed my hands together in anticipation. "Let's get cracking people!" I said as Angela walked down the stairs.

_~End Flashback~_

*******

Hours later, tired, but not worn out from the day's activities, we made our way home. There were a little over two and a half hours before dinner was to commence, so we were fairly relaxed.

Corrin and Sophia were sprawled out on the couches in the lounge room, relaxed as anything. I walked in while gulping some cold raspberry drink down, and I had drained the cup in time to see Corrin and Sophia share a very significant look. Automatically, I asked in deadpan voice, "What are you guys trying to hide from me?" We had known each other for at least a century and therefore we could read one another like a book.

Sighing and running a hand through his fairly short curls, Corrin leaned back and grinned at me. "You know how your birthday was a month and a half ago?" That was an odd question. Nodding slowly in reaction to his question, I was totally confused as to how this related to anything.

You would think that it'd be odd to celebrate birthdays when one is immortal, but we all felt that this was a special monument, regardless of age and time. As money was worthless to us, we concentrated more on the thoughtfulness of the gift over anything else. Like a homemade frame created from macaroni pieces would be cherished more than a several thousand-dollar gift card.

Sophia finished his train of thought, "And can you remember how we had to miss it because we were this close," she demonstrated how close they were by putting her index and thumb within a millimeter of each other, "to finally catching Annalie and getting you two to talk things out?"

Again I nodded, except I was getting incredibly frustrated with their ambiguous and obviously rhetorical line of questioning. "Yes! Damn you guys are vague! But you sent me a lovely flower arrangement, a huge card and several books. Why are you bringing it all up again?" The pair of them must have known that I remembered clear as day; they had a memory as good as mine.

Smirking like the jerk he was acting like in this moment, Corrin got up and started walking, heading outside, Sophia following. She indicated for me to follow, so I did, raging now with curiosity. "Little sister, do you really expect me to only give you that much?"

Confused and frankly, a bit pissed off, I snapped, "Yes, the gifts were lovely. What in the world are you talking about?" They really shouldn't get on my nerves. The upcoming dinner was doing enough of that.

"Silly, of course that wasn't enough. But we wanted to give you this in person," Corrin's arm swept over the driveway and my eyes followed. Then they nearly bulged out of their sockets as I finally noticed the wonderfully sleek looking motorcycle standing casually out on the driveway, adorned with a giant red ribbon on one of the handlebars.

Still and motionless, it looked fast. It was artistically covered in thin silver lines that made an overall picture of black flames with a silvery outline. But it wasn't too overbearing to look ugly; the flames were quite small and simple, making it perfect.

Wordlessly, Sophia held out a black leather jacket and a black helmet. Grinning at my dumbstruck expression, they elaborated. "Giving you the bike was mainly Corrin's idea. He remembered how you enjoyed the one you rode in Vietnam about eight years ago. So he decided a top of the line model would be the perfect birthday gift. Even then, he couldn't help but upgrade the engine. I decorated it though; black is way too bland," said Sophia happily. Blushing red at this, I looked at Corrin who was smiling widely, showing his teeth.

My jaw nearly dropped as I took the helmet and jacket into my hands. Fishing around in the pockets of the leather jacket, I fished out a set of keys with a little red heart on the key chain. My eyes watered at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. So I responded the only way I knew how, by hugging them as tight as anything, and then giving them a kiss on the cheeks.

"Thank you so much. I have no idea how I can top this gift when your birthdays come around," I choked out, directing the comment to the both of them. Now I felt super bad that I went off at them before. Sophia was busy grabbing something from her jeans pocket and I saw that she was fishing out a brand new music player with cordless earphones.

She handed them to me and proudly said, "That and the protective gear is my gift. Now you can ride and listen to music without worrying about the wires. Oh and I took the liberty of filling it to the brim with all of your favourite music." Since we had known one another for so long, she knew what I liked better than me sometimes, so I easily trusted her judgment.

Lost for words, I hugged them both again and then glanced at my new motorcycle. As eager as I was to test it out, I did not want to seem rude by ditching them. However Corrin, perceptive as always, noticed my predicament and gently said, "Go ahead, you know you want to. Oh and here's your license." He handed me a perfect fake ID, which I tucked securely into a pocket. My picture was actually all right, but a bit blurry.

Corrin was the one who made all the legal documents, and I was glad that he had thought ahead to make me one. Although I was a fantastic driver, I needed a license in this government ruled world. The system was so flawed, I thought.

With a shrill squeal of excitement, I tugged my jacket on and slipped my earphones in, setting the music player on shuffle. It was so tiny that it barely created a bulge on my jacket. Turning back to Corrin and Sophia, I grinned, my eyes practically dancing with excitement and I shoved my helmet on. Just before I put it on, I noticed my name was written across it in silver calligraphy, but in a very small font, like words in a novel. Sophia was so thoughtful sometimes. Even though I had no need for the protective gear – more for the humans' benefit than anything else – she still put effort into it.

Revving my engine, I sped out of the driveway, and I was right. This thing was _fast_.

*******

I didn't know how long I was driving, but it just felt so amazing. The speed, the wind whipping past me and the freedom, it was all so exhilarating. Then a glance at my wristwatch told me I had to get back to help prepare for the dinner, which in all the excitement of my gifts, I'd all but forgotten about. Well nearly. Sometimes my half vampire brain was a nuisance. I could never forget anything or let anything go. Though I had only been driving for half an hour, I knew I'd have to help Sophia with the workload.

Driving back home, I knew that I needed to help prepare food for the dinner, so I was speeding, diving and dodging in between the trees. Flashes of red, blue, silver and green passed me by as I hurried past the slower moving cars. In truth, I wasn't really paying attention to the cars; I was still aglow from the kind present.

Parking in the driveway, I ran to the house, giving only one backwards glance to the motorcycle. Opening the front door, I was assaulted with such a variety of smells, all combining to be one mouthwatering mixture. From a vampire viewpoint however, using the more animalistic side of my brain to judge the surroundings, I knew that it smelled terrible. Well, not terrible per se. It was just that the smells in the air would not be as alluring to vampires as they were to humans.

Rushing into the kitchen, I saw that it was just beginning. I moved quickly to help in any way possible and Sophia instructed me to cut the vegetables while Corrin stuffed the chicken. She was like a drill sergeant, barking out orders at a surprising rate. But hey, she got the work done more efficiently than I could have ever planned.

She was busy making the cake and keeping an eye on the oven when we heard the reliable chug of Angela's old truck enter the house. The door thumped open, and I heard a thudding human heartbeat enter the house indicating to all of us that Angela just got in. I wondered with a mild curiosity about what took her so long at Ben's house. Then I decided it was better not to ask when I saw a red mark on her neck, with a face that was flushed a matching red. She quickly threw on a gray scarf and wordlessly began tossing the neglected salad.

We were really cooking up a storm. Finished with the vegetables, I had begun stirring the hot pumpkin soup; I surveyed what was up on offer tonight. Judging from all the dirty pots and pans filling the sink, I wondered if we went a little overboard with whole revenge thing.

There was a chicken cooking away in the oven, its skin a gorgeous brown colour, looking ready to eat. Baking next to chicken were some sweet potatoes. Residing on the counter, next to the buttered peas and carrots, was a silver jug filled with thick gravy, looking extremely hot with ray spirals of steam swirling out of it. The mashed potatoes sitting next to it was looking just as hot and very thick. My mouth began to water. And the pumpkin soup in front of me was thick and smooth, just the way mom used to make it. Fortunately she left a cookbook of her recipes; otherwise I'd never be able to make this like she did. I shook the depressing thoughts out of my head and turned back to the task at hand.

Later, looking at the clock, I was surprised to learn that we had all been cooking for just a little under two hours. It was just a bubble of activity of jokes and warmth in the kitchen. But finally, everything was ready for the Cullen's to arrive in about ten minutes. Sophia, finished from cleaning the dishes and wiping down all the surfaces, was busy trying to put a beautifully decorated cake into the fridge. The icing made it look as though it was snowed on.

With a slight cough, I drew her attention and indicated that I needed to go get changed. She nodded absentmindedly, still making sure that everything was ready for dinner. _Gosh, I hoped the Cullen's could stomach all of this_, I thought to myself with an evil grin. Then I wondered again if I was going overboard. _Nah_, I thought. It was all in good fun. It's not like they'll suffer much from food poisoning or anything of the like. The mental image of someone like Emmett choking on a chicken bone made me giggle, as it was fairly amusing.

Anyway, the immortals really shouldn't be too bothered by having a nice _proper _sit down dinner. Corrin passed me on the stairs and we didn't pause to talk. He may have been ready and dressed, but I was still in my muddy and paint stained clothes from earlier, which now had added stains from the kitchen. Rushing into my room, I vaguely thought about what I was going to wear, but to be honest, I didn't care too much so long as they covered my scars.

The one time I wore something that exposed my neck and wrists was on that sunny day and Edward noticed one of the many bites on my neck. Thankfully he saw only one of them. And even then he seemed unsure. I shudder to imagine his reaction if he took a proper look and saw the many covering my forearms. They weren't that many, but they still made me self-conscience.

Actually, the last time I wore something that exposed all my scars was at the sleepover. Did anybody even notice? I did cover them a bit with makeup though. No body seemingly mentioned it. But I remember that I saw Jasper's eyes dart to my neck once... Was that just coincidence? Maybe he wants to drain me of my blood or something. Irritated, I pushed the thought out of my head, promising to inspect the notion later.

Settling with a blood red, button up sleeveless cardigan with a white long sleeved collared cotton shirt underneath; I tugged on my long jeans as I watched my alarm clock get closer to 6:30pm. Tying my hair back with a thin, see-through, scarlet ribbon, I checked my appearance in the body length mirror I had in my room, and I decided I passed the test.

Washing my face in my little bathroom, I thought about how awkward this dinner could be. Hopefully the entire thing wouldn't consist of stilted conversation.

Corrin's voice jolted me back into reality and I hurried back downstairs. When I reached the bottom floor, I couldn't see Corrin anywhere. Confused, I checked the kitchen that only held Sophia, who was checking the chicken's progress. My ears could hear Angela rummaging upstairs, but there was nothing on Corrin.

Entering the living room, I only had a brief glance at the purple colour scheme of the walls and furniture when I was tackled from the side by what felt like a tonne of bricks. Looking up at the person now sitting on top of my waist, I recognized him as Corrin immediately. He was grinning from ear-to-ear, pleased that he successfully caught me off guard. That was normal; he was always trying to provoke a fight with me. But it never stopped being irritating, but in a playful way of course.

Raising an eyebrow at him, I silently asked what the hell he was doing. Rolling his eyes in response, he flopped off me and held a hand to help me up like the chivalrous idiot he was. Always so helpful, I thought sarcastically.

Walking into the kitchen, I said in a strangled voice, trying to overcome the gathering nerves, "Okay, remember, don't interrogate them and be _nice_." I stressed this all with my eyes and my voice.

Waving off my concerns, they grumbled half-hearted agreements that made me narrow my eyes at them. Corrin, being the perpetually cheerful and optimistic brother of mine, draped his arms around me. "Calm down. We'll play nice. Anyway, they seem good enough. They just have to prove it to us," he said.

While setting up the table, I heard and saw when Angela bounded down the stairs with a grin on her face. The scarf was still hiding the marks on her neck. I'd have to ask her about that later. Grinning at me, Sophia sighed and leant against the counter, while muttering, "Finally. Everything's ready."

The doorbell went off and I bit my lip, still fairly nervous. Sophia grinned and motioned with two thumbs up that it was okay for me to go and answer the door. Walking to the door, I relaxed my stance and slowed my heartbeat.

It was show time.

*******

**A/N: Dinner will eventually come to pass. But you should realize by now that I hate to rush anything! *Giggles*.**

**Oh, and thank you for being patient with me, and another thank you for all your reviews. But if you add me onto your **_**Alert List**_** and don't review, that **_**really**_** peeves me off. So bloody take five seconds and review, okay? I love feedback – bad or good. It helps me as a writer, and that's what I strive for.**

**Cupcakes for all! With purple icing and packed to the brim with sugary goodness! :-)**


	10. Feed Me

_**Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.** _

**A/N: This isn't the whole dinner scene. Consider this 'Part 1'.**

**And this chapter brings back a little Alice POV, after I realized I hadn't used her in ages.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. Well, technically I don't have any rights over it, but the book itself is certainly residing on my shelf. But that doesn't count. Duh.**

*******

**APOV**

Squeezing my eyes shut, I searched in vain for any glimpse into the future, and more specifically into the events of the dinner, which were to sure to unfold tonight. Though my foresight was impaired, my gut feeling was as good as ever, and somehow I knew that this dinner was incredibly important. But try as I may, there was nothing of consequence. The fuzzy haze of colours was all I encountered and it re-enforced the idea that a future with Bella in turn meant a future of blind sight for me.

Widening my search, I looked at the stock market, the weather and the results of sporting games. I could see them as clear as day, but the future of the girl who's stolen my brother's heart was like looking for a spec of gold in mud. Bella was great, but the headaches she unknowingly causes, irritated me to no end. The closest I got to see an event in our future was the slight possibility of a visiting nomad. And even that was unsure.

Rubbing my temples, I tried to look again. To be honest, the headaches only happened when I tried to look into the future, so some of the blame rested on my part. If Jasper was here, he'd sooth me in an instant. He needed no empathic power to do that. All Jasper needed to do was hug me tightly in his arms and I'd feel at peace. We were two halves of a whole.

Jasper would willingly move mountains for me, but he was stuck on what to do about my frustration at my loss of future sight. Harming or interrogating Bella was definitely out of the question as she was beginning to really grow on Edward. Edward was really changing. But everyone took that as a change for the better. Though he had laughed occasionally in public, he was one who preferred the company of family to anything else and Bella changed that.

Though they've never said the three magic words, "I love you", the pair seems to be in total sync with one another. Yet, there was something pulling them both back from a total commitment of a relationship similar to Jasper and I or Carlisle and Esme. There was a secret in them both. Edward's was that he was a vampire. But as for Bella... There was something different about her and after spending copious amounts of time together; I am starting to pick up the subtle stuff.

The odd gleam in her eye, the knowing looks, the way she didn't shy away from us, the day when a sharp knife sliced her hand and she came through it without a scratch… In fact, I had a rather long mental list of things, but it didn't really seem too significant to note as dangerous. The saying, "love is blind" is true in this case as Edward takes effort to overlook the oddities of Bella. Something about, "Not complicating anything more than necessary."

But it didn't really matter too much. There seemed to be no threat or her part towards us and she made Edward glow with a light that I thought burnt out years ago. His happiness was incredibly preferable to the old brooding Edward.

However, things were always made to balance out. Even though Edward was more and more carefree and happy with Bella than I've seen him in fifty years, in turn, he was much more overbearingly protective of her.

With the discovery of two new scents to the already disturbing original vampire scent trail, Edward was overwhelmed with worry in the case that the visitors would accidentally decide to call Bella dinner. On our morning hunt, Rosalie discovered the first and Esme the second. Rushing back to the guys, immediately Jasper and Edward went out to track the vampires before the rain washes away their trails. They headed south, while Emmett and Carlisle headed north. The smells were everywhere somehow.

We were getting concerned that we haven't had contact with these vampires yet. As our scents layered the forest regions, usually nomads would pop in for a visit. But there was nothing from them yet. Just the shadow of an existence, with a faint print of a threat, but that was enough to put us all on guard. I felt like I was missing some piece of the puzzle here. A nagging feeling was telling me to look at this outside the box. But to find what?

A thumping sound and a pair of easily recognizable deep voices alerted me to the return of Jasper and Edward. Emmett's booming laugh and Carlisle's smooth voice told us that they were all back. Esme jumped up from the sketching table where she was working on her current design of a spare room in the house at the same moment that Rosalie jerked out from beneath a greasy car she was working on. Running down the stairs, I came face to face with the both of them in a flash.

Carlisle and Emmett wore slightly confused and concerned masks on their faces, as Edward shared a significant look with Jasper. Rosalie raised a perfect brow, as she impatiently demanded, "Well, did you find anything?"

Frowning slightly, Edward muttered, "We caught up with Bella and not too soon afterwards, Corrin. They were playing paint ball when we had some rather interesting insights."

Tapping her blood red heels on the marble floor, creating a fast tempo matching her impatient outlook on life, Rosalie snapped, "Go on, we don't exactly have all the time in the world." She snorted at her unintended joke.

Exchanging a glance, Jasper nodded at Edward before he continued the explanation, "Well the first odd thing I noticed was that the guns were modified heavily. They were definitely stronger than the standard guns sold in conventional shops. Whoever modified them did a top-notch job. I could have sworn they were real guns. Yet the thing was that Bella was wearing only goggles as protective gear."

As he said that, Emmett rudely interrupted Jasper, "You pulled me away from a bear for this?"

"No," replied Jasper impatiently. His impatience was leaking into all of us, but he quickly regained control. "Just let me finish. Anyway, I could tell thanks to Emmett's great idea–" he was starting to turn sarcastic "–around about three years ago to go and play paint ball with the humans."

We all looked at him expectantly as he continued, "There were several odd things about the situation. Firstly, as we were greeting one another, she randomly blew her whistle. She didn't even explain herself. Afterwards, it gets stranger. Corrin sneaks up behind her and shoots two pellets to the back of her head. Bella doesn't even flinch at the impact. All she does is get really annoyed that her brother snuck a shot in. Apparently the whistle was a signal for time-out"

My eyebrows were raised high at this point, a mixture of disbelief and impatience. There was nothing overly incriminating at the moment... It was strange, sure. But it was hard to see where the importance lay.

"As Corrin ran, Bella shot at him, and she was an incredible marksman. She's almost as good of a shot as you, Rosalie. But Corrin was a moving target, so I could say she might be better," continued Jasper. At this, Rosalie predictably began fuming at the idea of being compared to a human. Or what we assumed was one.

"Corrin didn't stumble or stop in pain as several pellets hit his back too," said Edward as he hurriedly took over the narrator's role in the story telling. "However from my point of view, things were undoubtedly more interesting. Just before Corrin shot and came into view, I heard a whisper of thought pass through his mind."

Carlisle was immediately intrigued. "Did you not speculate earlier that the silence was most likely to be a genetic thing?"

Edward nodded slowly before adding more, "I thought so too, but as Corrin ran away, I heard that same whisper of thought. But actually, it was weaker than that. It was more of an impression of a thought. He was incredibly excited. That was all I got before his mental voice left my hearing range."

"Hmm. Very strange," Carlisle mumbled, obviously deep in thought.

"Do you think that they have something to do with the visiting vampires?" blurted out Jasper.

Our heads whipped around to him in shock. Edward was growling, an automatic response to defend his girlfriend and her family.

"Wait, hear me out," pleaded Jasper, hands held out as a sign of peace. With a stiff nod, Edward implied that it was safe to continue. Tranquility seeped through us all and I saw us all collectively relax. Jasper's gift was rather helpful at times.

"Well, the first scent arrived at the same time as Bella. These two new ones coincide with her relatives passing here," Jasper hurriedly relayed out. There was truth and logic behind his thinking, and I ran up to hold his hand, to lend some support throughout his explanation.

He looked down at me with grateful eyes and I squeezed his hand gently. Sometimes he was shy, scared of failure, so I helped him to voice his opinions and his views. We were each other's rock.

"But you've been around both Corrin and Bella. You know what they smell like. I doubt Sophia would smell like two different people," said Esme reasonably. She would not want to wish that there was a terrible coven stalking the Swan family or that the Swan's they were the threat.

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "That's why I am thinking along the lines of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You know the story. Doctor by day, monster by night. Total change without control."

Rosalie snorted and said, "Nice try Einstein. But there was that sleepover we had a few weeks ago."

Rather uncomfortable with the spotlight on him, Jasper shrugged and said, "Maybe they are like Children Of The Moon – humans that change into deadly creatures only following changes in the lunar patters; a full moon."

Carlisle nodded slowly and said, "There is some possible element of truth in your theory son, but to find the truth, we will need much more proof than that.

"How many monsters can this region hold?" muttered Rosalie sarcastically under her breath.

Throughout this, Edward was unusually quiet and he was sharing a private conversation with Jasper and Carlisle. I hated these silent conversations unless I was in them. At this mental comment, Edward's lips tugged up at the corner slightly. He was mocking me!

A sweeping calm befell me, courtesy of Jasper and reminded me that there were more important things at the moment.

The dinner was very soon and we were debating whether the vampires were Bella and her family.

What wasn't off about that comment?

My mind could not wrap itself around the idea that Bella was a vampire. There was so much saying that that was not true.

Edward was still having a mental conversation with Carlisle. Esme was sitting on the lounge, subconsciously running her hands through her hair, face puckered with confusion at this notion. Emmett was talking quietly to Jasper about the guns, but I wasn't interested in their conversations. Rosalie just stared out of the glass wall. Probably cursing Edward for bringing such a danger into our lives or something like that. Then again, Rosalie surprises me many times, so I wouldn't doubt that something totally different was running through her mind.

But even if Bella wasn't human, I couldn't feel it within me to regret having her into our lives. We were closer as a family, now that Edward was lighter hearted.

If we had to kill Bella – Edward growled in response to my thoughts – how would we cope? She's practically part of the family. What person would purposely attempt to end the life of a sibling?

*******

**EPOV**

Driving to Bella's house, I was able to let my mind wander. Driving was such a mundane task when one could not travel at top speeds and so all I had to remember was the motions. Change gear, gas pedal, turn the steering wheel...

Today was certainly strange within it's own rights. I was so sure that I heard Corrin. But it was like he used a light switch to turn off the connection.

But more than that was Jasper's comment that shook me. The idea that Bella was a monster was conflicting – in more ways than one.

In one way, I was scared of losing her. Scared that I might have to fight her. Terrified that I may have to kill her. I don't think I'd be able to do that. But I doubt I could even fight her to begin with. I was ashamed to admit, but even if my family were at stake, I knew I would still hesitate before attacking.

In another way, I was ecstatic. Which made me repulsed at my line of thinking. However, the idea that Bella was like me in some ways was amazing. I wouldn't have to constantly watch my movements, my actions with her. We would understand each other more. Though I told myself that I was happy with what I had, I knew I would want Bella forever. Yet taking away her humanity was not something I was keen on.

However the bone-crushing agony of very _thought_ of her dying or leaving was bad enough that I considered the idea. A lot. Hopefully, she would not suffer from my utter selfishness.

Also, I felt pain in the case she was dangerous. She might hurt my family. She might want to kill us. Bella might–

What was I thinking? Bella, the sweet, loving Bella I knew, would never do that.

It was as though I had resigned myself to the idea she was a monster already. I was assuming that Bella was a bad, evil monster. Maybe she was good? I should be refusing that line of thought until I had proof.

There was also something else underneath that muddle of emotions. The fear of rejection was running rampant within me.

Over the few days, I've slowly realized that I ..._ loved_ Bella. More than anything I could name. The way I thought about her nearly confirmed it. Not to mention the way Jasper complains about how my emotions go haywire every time she walks into my room.

I couldn't remember a happy moment without her. She was my sun and I loved it. But how to tell her... _If_ I would tell her would be more accurate. Bella always surprised me, but I was fairly sure that it was too early in our relationship to do anything of that level yet without her freaking out a bit.

"I love you" is a phrase thrown around so much nowadays. Not like in my time. But I want her to take it seriously. I wanted her to know that I mean the words with all my heart. And I would mean it with my soul – if I had one.

But I can't even think, "I love you … Bella" without hesitating.

If I was sure that Alice wouldn't overreact to the news, I would have told her by now and asked for advice on the matter. In fact, I was rather grateful for her future vision impairment at the moment. Alice would be oblivious to the fact I would be declaring my feelings soon. Then again, I doubted she was totally clueless though. I mean, she always shot me knowing looks and her husband could tell every emotion that ran though me.

In fact, Alice and Jasper were in the car right now, along with Rosalie. Emmett was traveling with Esme and Carlisle in the Jeep. There wasn't much conversation in the car though; we were all mentally preparing ourselves for the greasy human food that was surely awaiting us.

There was a level of curiosity in all of us. We were about to meet and interact with Bella's brother and sister-in-law. Every time we asked about her family, she would skillfully deflect the conversation. Finally, part of her mystery would be unraveled before me.

Relaxing against the framework of the car seat, I saw Bella's house was less than a minute away. I would have to think about how I would tell Bella another time.

Parking alongside the Jeep, which arrived shortly before us, we all made our way to the door at a human pace. Jasper kept us all calm with his gift, something which I really appreciated. Ironically, as a near indestructible creature, I was nervous at meeting my girlfriend's family.

The thoughts of my family were making my stomach churn as they were all remembering the last time we had to eat normal food. Out of us all, the only person who could really sympathize with me was Jasper; the feelings of disgust were rolling off us in waves. Alice wasn't as apprehensive as the rest of us, more eager to meet Sophia than anything else.

Esme was taking in her surroundings with interest. She was noting the designs and she liked the garden layout. _What a quaint little place_, she mused quietly in her head. Walking up the pathway slowly, I tried to tune out the wafting voices I could easily hear. Carlisle pressed the doorbell and we all waited for someone to open the door.

After all, it was show time. We were the actors and the world was our stage. Our entire lives were lies. I wished I could be honest with Bella.

But I knew that she wasn't that honest with me…

******

**BPOV**

With a slight, teasing grin on my face, I opened the door to reveal the entire Cullen family standing on the doorstep smiling right back at me. Hurriedly ushering them in from the cold air of outside – an ironic gesture seeing as their body temperature was much, much cooler than the outside air – I took their coats and asked them to make their way into the living area to meet Sophia. I could easily tell they were curious about my sister in law and Carlisle and Esme were interested in Corrin as well.

They were all nicely dressed – slightly overdressed – but I didn't doubt that rags would look good if they were wearing them. It was a slight perk or downside to vampirism, depending on the viewpoint. It was nice to look good, but it made them outsiders. Since my family had a bit of human in all of us, our slight imperfections let us blend in with the crowds of swarming humans with ease.

I slipped my warm arm around Edward's icy waist and gave him a big kiss. He smiled against my lips and wrapped his arms around my waist to lift me up a bit from the floor for better access. There was no doubt in my mind that Corrin would kill Edward if we displayed anything more than pecks and handholding in front of him. Sophia was a different matter. She would probably try her hand at giving me tips. Oddly enough, I don't know which is worse or more embarrassing.

Ushering them into the living room, they were finally face to face with Corrin and Sophia, while Angela was standing a little off to the side. A slight smile tugged at the corners of Sophia's lips and she said her hellos. The guys gave her the classical peck on the hand as a sign of greeting, before parting to shake Corrin's hands. Ever so gentlemanly, the repeated the gesture to Angela too.

Esme and Rosalie gave gentle friendly hugs, introducing themselves. Alice was over-exuberant as ever and she practically tackled Sophia with a hug. Luckily, Sophia reciprocated and was ecstatic at the reception. Corrin looked from behind them and gave me a swift wink. I just shook my head at him in response.

While the Cullen's were occupied with Corrin and Angela – Esme and Carlisle never having seen her before – Sophia slyly sidled up to my side and muttered in my ear, clearly aware that everyone apart from Angela could hear, so she coded her response, "Five stars, very nice."

Basically, it referred to a system that we used to rate guys in the looks department. Five was a very good mark, but there were more areas to rate a guy, but she was waiting for evidence to back up her score. I just blushed in response to her comment, as it was an inside joke between her and me that I would snag a good-looking guy, but it was only now that I really believed it.

The Cullen's looked at us curiously and Corrin snorted in response to what he heard. I knew he was still a little hesitant to my choice of boyfriend, but he was also aware that he wasn't dad. He wasn't Charlie, and if Edward made me happy, he'd let it be. Though, there was the fact that if Edward showed any sign that he would hurt me, Corrin would definitely enter over-protective brother mode.

I was a big girl. Hell, I could look after myself quite a bit better than he could!

As we sat down at the dinner table, the home phone went off. _Ring ring! Ring ring!_

Motioning to the others that I'd get it, I hurried off to pick up the phone, giving the Cullen's and my family some "alone" time. Thankfully Angela was here, so no fights or anything of the like could happen. Just in time, I picked up the phone and answered with a cheery, "Hello!"

Japanese filtered through and I thanked my lucky stars that I learned Japanese several decades ago. In fact, I know many languages; which was a slight perk to being a bit of a nomad. The main reason I knew Japanese was because Corrin wanted us to go to Japan in search for Godzilla. Since vampires and werewolves existed, he asked, "_Why not Godzilla?_" In the end, the attempt was fruitless, but I knew Corrin still hopes.

The person speaking was a male, and I listened in curiously, trying to think of a reason why a Japanese person was calling.

"_Hello, I am Mashuri Yakamura. Is there a Corrin Swan there?_" Did Corrin stir up trouble in Asia or something? I wouldn't put it past him. He was strongly against some laws, and whaling was on the list. _Please don't tell me he led another protest in public,_ I thought. He last one he led on human rights in Tibet nearly got him imprisoned for "life".

My Japanese was fairly good, considering my perfect memory and all, but I answered back tentatively, "_Yes. I am Bella Swan. How may I help you?_" My voice was as smooth and as calm as I could have hoped for. Damn Corrin if he did anything to piss some government off.

"_Oh, I was hoping to speak to a Corrin Swan. Is he there?_" he replied in a tired, yet respectful tone of voice.

"_I am his sister. He's a little busy at the moment, but I can speak on his behalf_," I told him in a carefully. This man still had not explained his reason for calling.

"_This is a matter of the stock market. I am sure he would like to hear the results firsthand_," he replied rather stubbornly. I just snorted and told him to go ahead with whatever needed to be said.

_I _was in control of what we did in the stock market. When the hell had Corrin ever bought stocks – wait. _Now_ I remember! It was nearly a year ago, and Corrin was whining about how I was always controlling finances. It was all right until Corrin implied he was sure he could do a better job. Even Sophia knew that my choices in the market were 99% of the time, a sure bet. So I challenged him – rather dramatically too – to a wager of sorts.

He placed 10 million dollars in a company called _BD Corporations_ and I placed the same amount in a small, but rising company called the _Jenkins Company_. _BD Corporations_ was looking good, but a gut feeling had told me that it was a bad choice. _Jenkins Company_ was the one I felt would win. It seemed today we would find the winner.

Overall, my mind was rather occupied with anticipation and excitement. But there was a small portion of me was wondering why I didn't recognize the stockbroker. But it was in the same second I thought of the question that I remembered the answer. Our other stockbroker retired and I hadn't had a chance to meet the replacement, what with school and all. I guess this one needs a little breaking in. He should learn that when it comes to the stock market, I am the one he asks for.

Vaguely, I was wondering why we had chosen to have stockbrokers in Japan anyway, but then his hesitant voice broke through my thoughts, "_I am sorry to report this, but _BD Corporations _has bankrupted and all your stocks to that company has become worthless._" At that point he paused, as though he was sure an onslaught of yelling would occur. Mashuri should lighten up. Yuma – the old stockbroker – knew about our family's eccentric tendencies, and we'd be having a right old laugh at the turn of events of the bet.

Biting my lip to hold back the giggles, I choked out, "_And how's _Jenkins Company_ doing?_"

In a very relieved voice, Mashuri replied, "_It is doing rather wonderfully. The gains you received from it nearly counteract your losses._"

Grinning from ear to ear, I quickly replied, "_Thank you for calling. I must go to dinner now. Don't worry about the losses._"

There was what appeared to be a surprised silence before Mashuri ended the call with, "_Goodnight, Ms. Swan._"

Chuckling quietly, I replaced the phone on the charging dock and made my way into the dining room. They were waiting for me to join them, and were all locked in a light conversation. Corrin and the Cullen's were all still sort of getting to know one another, and what they were chatting about was of no importance to me.

As I sat in my seat, Sophia left to get the food and Corrin looked at me interestedly. Angela sidled up to me and mumbled in my ear, "I heard a lot of weird words coming from you. What was that conversation about?"

Smiling like an idiot, I replied in an off hand, nonchalant voice, "Just some talk about the stock market. Apparently some company called _BD Corporations_ bankrupted." Angela looked at me with a strange and confused expression, but I turned my attention to Corrin and wiggled my eyebrows at him with a wicked smile on my face.

At first, his expression told me he was lost, but then his face lit up with understanding. Not soon after he was sulking and pouting. He hated losing any type of bet or contest. But he got over it quickly and turned back to charm the guests. At this point, the Cullen's were looking at our interaction with interest, but I paid them no mind.

Before they could ask though, Sophia entered with the chicken and my stomach grumbled. All I had today – in human food – was a drink. Sophia hurriedly served the food out, sparing a moment to give me a covert glance, a grin and a wink.

The Cullen's were looking at the food with unease, but when they were met with the curious glances of Sophia and I, their expressions were re-arranged into easygoing smiles. Well, Rosalie's nose was still a little crinkled with disgust. They must be suffering with the smells of cooked food. Good. Alice and the Cullen's should learn there are consequences for going against people's wishes. Fortunately, Sophia took their expressions without offense; she knew they hated any food.

Without waiting, I started digging into the chicken. It was delicious. Sophia was a whiz at cooking meats of any kind. Angela was tucking in eagerly to the sweet potatoes. Corrin was happily pouring gravy over his chicken – something that I had no clue how he could like – and he was also engaged in a conversation with Emmett. Smiling, I speared some salad. I knew Emmett and Corrin would get along.

With a moment of hesitation, I saw all the Cullen's take a very small bite of chicken and swallow without much chewing. Their faces showed indifference, but could tell they were uncomfortable, just the slightest, with their body language. Emmett was the only one who ate with any degree of emotion, nearly choking himself with the size of his bite, and then he emitted noises of content and joy. He was a good actor; Sophia was beaming with pride at this, even though she knew that he hated her cooking. Well, any food actually.

Sophia decided to break the slightly stiff atmosphere first, "Honey, who was on the phone?"

Grinning, I said, "Mashuri Yakamura called. He's a bit uptight, but seemed efficient enough. Just called to say _BD Corporation_ bankrupted."

When the words left my mouth, Sophia burst into giggles while everyone looked on with confusion. Corrin was determinedly not looking at me, preferring to concentrate on the chicken before him.

"Damn Corrin! I _told_ you not to bet against Bella!" she choked out before conceding back into giggles.

Taking pity on the party before me, I decided to fill them in. Turning to them, I said, "We made a bet on the stock market and Corrin lost. Pretty badly too, might I just add." Corrin grumbled under his breath and poked his salad around the plate.

With a raised eyebrow, Carlisle asked in a surprised voice, "You work the stock market?"

Sophia nodded and replied, "Actually, Bella usually chooses where we place our money. She either has a sixth sense about theses things, or she's–"

"–really damned lucky, that's what!" finished Corrin. The way they finished each other's sentences was really creepy at times. "I demand a rematch!" he said with a fierce determination.

Snorting, I rolled my eyes at him and said, "You're on. But it seems a waste of money. We all know you are going down!" He laughed and I joined in. Angela chuckled at our odd banter. The Cullen's were still a little baffled, but their eyes sparkled with humor.

"When did you learn Japanese?" asked Jasper.

Shrugging, I lied easily, "School." I turned to Corrin and voiced a question before I could forget it (a difficult feat considering my picture perfect memory), "Why do we have a stockbroker in Japan anyway?"

Corrin frowned and said, "I'm not sure. Was it for convenience?"

Laughing, Sophia contradicted that, "Oh honey, that's not true! It was when Corrin had his "Godzilla Phase". Do you remember that?"

I began laughing as Sophia explained Corrin's "Godzilla Phase" to Angela and the Cullen's. She tweaked the details to make it fit our life span and seem realistic. Corrin searched for Godzilla in Japan for a few years, but we told them it was a few months.

"I don't care what you say! Godzilla is out there somewhere!" cried out Corrin.

Angela snorted and said sarcastically, "Yep, and he's having tea parties with Harry Potter as we speak."

"And don't forget his dental appointment with the aliens!" I teased, causing Corrin to turn bright red and growl at us.

Sophia patted him gently on the back and mumbled, "Sweetie, don't fret, they're just messing with you."

"I know, I know. And y'all eat your words when I find him!" he said. But he couldn't hold a straight face, and we all burst in raucous laughter.

All of a sudden, Corrin banged his fist on the table, making us all jump slightly.

"I've got it!" he said triumphantly. "Next fancy dress party, I'm going as Godzilla!"

"Oh god Corrin," I choked out between giggles. "That's going to turn out worse than your Transylvanian vampire costume!" At my comment, the Cullen's head whipped around, but we ignored it.

"And how the hell are we going to match?" demanded Sophia. It was their "thing" to turn up in matching costumes.

"Don't know yet," said Corrin dismissively. "Details can be worked out later."

Sophia opened her mouth to retaliate, but Emmett interrupted, "What's this about costumes and vampires and such?"

Smirking, I answered, "We take fancy dress parties and turned the costume making into a sort of hobby. I sow the simpler things, Sophia concentrates on the more complex designs and Corrin is in charge of props.

"Sadly, Corrin won't let go of this hideous vampire costume. It has a cape, fangs; it's the whole package. And he disagrees when Sophia and I try to convince him that he looks like an idiot in the get up."

"I resent that comment!" snapped Corrin playfully.

"Honey, you do look more foolish than usual," said Sophia in a soothing tone.

"_More foolish than usual_. You should listen to that Corrin. That's something that's hard to achieve," I teased, adding a wink, earning a growl from him.

"What's your favourite costume?" inquired Alice with interest.

"Oh well, we usually co-ordinate our costumes. But my favourite would most definitely be the Van Helsing costume. I wear it when Corrin is a vampire and Sophia dresses up as the victim. I look good in it," I concluded with a shrug and smirk.

This talk of vampires was uncomfortable and awkward for the Cullen's, but I ignored it. It was rather amusing, because they didn't know that we knew. So we could tease them a lot.

Angela chuckled and rebutted with, "Bella, you and I both know that is not the only reason why you like that damned outfit. The fact you get to shoot Corrin with a paint ball gun and without retaliation is a perk too!"

With a sly smile, I replied in a mock-offended voice, "Whatever do you mean? Shooting deadly mythical creatures is all part of the job description. I take no joy in it!"

A few years after we made 'Hybrid Paint Ball', a stoke of genius led me to add the guns to my attire and using only red paint balls, it made it look like he bled every where I shot him. The funniest thing was his anger when he couldn't retaliate. His explanation, "It would be out of character".

But Sophia thought it was a hilarious preventative measure to persuade Corrin to give up the outfit. Needless to say, it didn't work. Whatever, it was still fun.

"What a whopper of a lie, little sis. You shot me more times than I could count last year," he said with a fake wince.

With a snort, I replied, "Like you noticed. You were too damn busy giving Sophia hickeys," I said before making gagging gestures with my hand. Sophia blushed, but Corrin seemed oddly proud.

"I remember that," continued Angela as she rubbed her neck awkwardly, above the spot of her own hickey. "I think I was a princess or something stupid at that party." She was referring to the dress up party we hosted last year in Alaska and it was the first time Corrin, Sophia and her all met up. "Instead of being good hosts, you were snogging in the corner!"

"Ah, but I was being a good host, by making Sophia feel comfortable," joked Corrin. "You could say sucking neck was on my job description." He ended with a suggestive eyebrow raise to Sophia, who giggled in response.

"Eww, too much information for my ears," I cried, slapping my hands over my ears like a child. But I quickly took them off and joined in the easy laughter.

Sophia noticed we were accidentally excluding the Cullen's, so she casually threw them a question, "What are your favourite superheroes/good guys?"

In his big booming voice, Emmett cried out, "Superman, hands down, is the best hero in comic book history!"

Grinning, Corrin remarked, "With your muscles, you could pass for him!"

Rosalie sniffed and added, "Personally, I think there are not enough female heroines."

"Bella, you should become a superhero, saving the world from baddies!" sang Alice in a playful voice.

"Ahh, you helped me with Bertha, remember?" added Angela quietly.

Hesitating, my mind quickly went through to Bertha. She was a rather large girl at our old school that enjoyed bullying people. When I moved there, I encountered her tormenting Angela outside the library. With several choice kicks and hits, none too damaging, I got her to back off. When I was helping Angela up, we got to talk, and we clicked. From there an easy friendship flowed.

"Yeah, I remember her. She was horrible – " I started, but Angela cut me off when she said in a lighter tone, "And you took down Mike pretty easily don't forget." I took the hint that she didn't want to talk about it too much more.

"Who's Mike?" asked Corrin with a raised eyebrow.

Angela snorted with glee and explained the story. While she was busy doing that, I hastened to eat some more food. At the end of the story, Corrin and Sophia were laughing, while Carlisle and Esme seemed shocked. I guess that Edward and the rest of them didn't say anything about it at home.

Abruptly Corrin stopped laughing and growled out, "Where the hell does he get off touching my sister without her consent?"

"Cool it Corrin. I took care of it," I hastily reassured him. There was no need for Mike to be hunted and beaten to a pulp by Corrin. Still… the idea was tempting.

"That's my girl. Told you fighting lessons would pay off," he replied and then tucked into some more chicken. I noticed the Cullen's plates were half empty, yet I hadn't seen them eat that much. They must be sneaking the food into napkins somehow. Sighing, I drank some water and reasoned that even a little of food is torture enough.

"Is this place always this rainy?" asked Sophia as she stared our wistfully at a window wet with slick from the rain pouring down.

Esme nodded and said, "This area is one of the cloudiest areas in the United States."

"Just our luck," I said sarcastically to Angela. "What I would give for a sunny day on the beach," I added with a heavy sigh.

"Ooh, you should come with us when we go to Australia! It's really sunny there," said Sophia, eyes twinkling with excitement.

"You guys should think about a holiday there too," added Corrin with a grin, directing his comment to the Cullen's. "No offense, but you are incredibly pale." They responded with slightly uneasy grins.

Sophia slapped the back of his head and told him off for being rude. It made me laugh.

Angela started to jabber on about things she knew about the land 'Down Under' and how it made her list of places she wanted to visit.

Sophia, Corrin and I had been to Australia once before, and what with the reefs and the gorgeous landscapes, it was really quite wonderful. Not to mention that kangaroo blood made for an interesting change in dynamic for our diets. But crocodile blood was terrible; with it being a cold-blooded reptile and all.

"Nah," I answered, shaking my head. "I want to go around Europe. I mean, you guys just went and it sounds wonderful." This was ignoring the fact I had been around Europe too, but it was around seventy years ago.

And from there conversation flowed as easy a river into the sea. All my earlier stress seemed needless when I observed the way we all talked together. The Cullen's were suggesting places to visit, with tones that hinted that they had been there before.

I suddenly wondered how old these vampires were. I had never really thought about it much before, but then again, it wouldn't be too necessary to learn proper ages. Was I older than Edward? It'd be rather amusing if that were the case. He probably assumed he was older, being a vampire and all. So if I get to tell him the truth, then I'll probably shock him a lot. A century and a half of life was old.

Judging by my family and Edward's family and the way they interacted, I could see they were acting really well together. Corrin just loved Emmett's jokes and Sophia chatted easily to Esme about clothes and house designs.

At the moment, they were relaying some of the stories of their travels to Angela and the Cullen's, all of which were listening animatedly.

"So, Corrin and I stumble across this little café and it was simply gorgeous, giving a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower," Sophia described, using her hands as much as her words to portray the scene.

"Anyway, we entered to order some drinks and some food, but we had to wait because there was a line. Which was understandable; it was in the middle of a busy tourist district. However, the thing that got me was that the two girls up front thought we were average tourists and began jabbering about Corrin in French."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "What'd they say?"

Scowling, she continued, "They were basically saying how good looking Corrin was, whilst insulting me at the same time! The French are stereotypically rude, but they don't have to constantly re-enforce the notion!"

Chuckling, Angela interrupted with a question, "What did you do?"

At this point, Corrin took over. He said, "Sophia interrupted their little speech in French – shocking the hell out of both of them – and afterwards had a huge rant about me being hers. With the way she talked, you'd think I was a piece of meat, easy to sell and buy. She looked damn angry, which reminded me never to get on her bad side." The inflection on his voice held no antagonism; in fact, I think he was proud and pleased by Sophia's remarks. They were really smitten with one another.

Smirking, Sophia snapped back playfully, "That was no worse than how you reacted when that Italian guy got a little too close for comfort with me."

"That was a totally different scenario!" Corrin hastened to defend his case. "His eyes wouldn't stay on your face and he constantly wandered southwards. I swear he was undressing you with his eyes and too soon, his hands followed!"

Growling, he viciously stabbed his chicken and scowled at it before he ate it. With a single touch from Sophia, his entire frame relaxed and I could tell he was back to normal.

"You guys are so adorable together! I can see why you married so young!" squealed Alice.

Carlisle and Esme were shocked at Alice's sudden outburst, but Corrin and Sophia took it to heart and practically beamed at her.

"You have no idea how many people say it is stupid to commit so young," complained Corrin.

Shrugging, Alice replied, "I might know better than you think." Her eyes darted to Jasper and back to her plate. When she looked at the remaining food, I saw her suppress a frown.

"We should show you the tape of Bella singing karaoke after dessert –" began Corrin excitedly, but I stopped him right there.

"You brought that horrible tape? I thought you got rid of all the copies!" I whined. The karaoke tape was terrible and I wished I had never gotten a video camera for Corrin.

Sighing, he stated, "Yes I brought it –"

"Then I will find it and burn it. Using your precious vinyl collection as accelerant for the fire," I threatened, my eyes showing the seriousness of my threat.

"Not my vinyl collection!" gasped Corrin with wide eyes. Sometimes with the way he protects his records, I would say he loved it more than me.

"Yes, your vinyl collection. Unless you want to destroy the tape," I practically growled at him.

"Is that blackmail I hear Bella?" asked Edward in an amused tone, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Yes it is. That damned tape has been haunting me, I swear. Corrin's record collection would cause quite a bonfire, now that I think about it. It's much larger than the CD collection in your room."

"What were you doing in Edward's room?" asked Sophia with a wicked grin.

"Sleeping," I said flatly. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

*******

**A/N: So, what did you think? Just some light humor mainly. All the angsty stuff is coming up in a couple of chapters. I love me some angst. :-)**

**Damn this was one of the longest chapters I've written. *Cracks knuckles*.**

**Ooh, I have a banner for this story now! It's on my profile and I made it myself. *Beams*.**

**One more thing: I will always respond to any reviews or PMs I get, no matter how long or short. PROMISE. :-) **

**Chicken smothered in gravy for all you readers out there! But you only get the dessert if you review.**


	11. Text Message

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: To those anonymous reviewers: I love you guys and girls, I do, I really do. But I cannot answer your questions unless you are logged in with an account or unless you leave an email address. So, if there are any really major concerns you want to talk about, or just tiny ones you want to chat about, please leave an email address or something I can use to get in contact with you. *Peace sign with hands*.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and therefore have no ownership over Twilight. But when I think about it, I don't care really. It's quite enjoyable to mess around with the characters and plot line.**

*******

**BPOV**

Looking down at my plate, trying to hide my telltale blush from Sophia's earlier comments, I scowled down at the large surplus of peas on my plate. Looking up I saw Corrin doing the same intense surveying to the minute mountain of carrots on his plate. When he looked up, we shared a knowing glance and swapped vegetables. The swap brought out a grin from the both of us; I hated peas and he absolutely detested carrots. We had a good system going.

"What are you two doing?" asked Edward, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Rolling my eyes, I answered, "Exchanging vegetables." My tone implied that this was the most obvious thing in the world, but Edward was still confused, but now it was more bemused than anything else.

"But why?" he pushed doggedly for more information.

"I don't like peas, and Corrin doesn't like carrots," again, I replied in a voice clearly saying it was meant to be obvious, and in a way it was. But I could tell Edward was getting a little agitated.

"Then why put them on your plate in the first place?" he countered.

Sighing, I looked at Sophia pointedly and said, "She wants us to eat a wide variety of vegetables, and she thinks that putting them on our plate will convince Corrin and me to eat it. For someone so smart, she just doesn't get it."

Sophia laughed and replied light-heartedly, "Soon enough, you'll like peas, mark my words, my mind games will work on you."

"You could be trying for several decades and my opinion will never change," I retorted stubbornly, my chin stuck out in a defiant gesture. My comment was actually an inside joke; Sophia _had_ actually been trying try for half a century, but to no avail on her part. "Corrin and I are just too stubborn," I concluded with a smirk.

"You make it sound like a good thing," muttered Emmett under his breath with a smile.

"Well sometimes stubbornness pays off!" commented Corrin loudly. "If it were not for that, Bella never would have gone skydiving with me!"

"You went skydiving Bella?" Emmett asked excitedly, a childish glint of amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Oh you told me about this," inserted Angela. "Didn't Corrin insult you or something and that set you off?"

Scoffing, I cried out in an overly dramatic voice, "It was more than a mere insult; he placed my whole honour at stake!"

"What did he say?" Alice asked, not unkindly.

"He said I didn't have the guts to jump out of a plane flying a couple thousand feet above the ground. I proved him wrong that very day," I said smugly.

My mind briefly transported me back to that day and I remembered the pure exhilaration I experienced from that leap, the wind blowing trough my hair and the resistance my body gave to gravity. It was indescribable the way my stomach plummeted and my heart leapt into my throat. The blood pounding in my ears and the smile that graced my features, it was all so amazing.

Maybe I should do it again.

I had lived for more years than was natural, yet I had not done everything I had ever wanted. A prime example would be me climbing Mount Everest and K2. Sometimes I wondered how humans could cope. Their lives were so pitifully short, yet somehow, fulfilling.

Angela shook her head and added, "Was the risk worth it?"

Shrugging, I ate some carrots and after I swallowed it, I replied in a thoughtful tone, "Some risks are worth it. Otherwise, life is dull. Risk is what spices everything up."

"So you put yourself in harm's way on purpose?" Edward demanded, his tone getting steadily angrier, his swirling amber eyes burning into mine.

Squaring the set of my shoulders, I stared him down and snapped, "Edward, I am neither an ignorant child nor an idiot. Usually Corrin and or Sophia tag along with me and generally ensure my safety. I take all safety precautions needed. Do not presume as though I cannot look after myself." I've had several lifetimes of fighting for my life. These human thrills were my respite, and I did not need some condescending vampire telling me otherwise.

Chagrined, he muttered, "I did not mean it like that." Edward's gaze softened, and I smiled back.

A sudden thought struck me and I asked of Corrin, "How are you going to get around? You didn't bring your car with you, and I certainly cannot carpool you around everywhere." Corrin frowned and went quiet, obviously trying to think of a solution.

"You can borrow my car, if you want to," offered Angela.

Sitting up slightly straighter, Corrin chuckled and replied, "Thanks, but no thanks. I feel the need for speed, and I don't think your poor truck can handle me pushing it over sixty miles an hour."

"Unless I upgraded it for you?" asked Rosalie. She never could pass up a chance to tinker with the insides of a car's engine.

Shaking her head, Angela replied, "That's nice of you to offer, but I only trust one guy to mess around with my truck. He's the guy I bought it from and he keeps it in good shape for way cheaper than the shop does. Though he only does mechanics in is spare time, he's really good. Actually, at the moment, he's rebuilding a car of his own. I think it's called a Rabbit or something. Jacob Black's his name, and I got from him down at La Push."

Corrin quickly interrupted, "I her La Push has some pretty tall cliff faces. Want to try some cliff diving?" My face lit up at the prospect, and I hurriedly agreed. From the corner of my eye, I saw the faces of the Cullen's blanch slightly at the mention of the reservation. What an odd reaction.

Sophia asked Angela if she wanted to join in, but her face paled at the thought and she hurriedly made an excuse to pass on the trip, mumbling something about Ben. Turning to the Cullen's, I asked, "I just realised that Angela and I have never gone to the beaches in the nearby area. What are they like?"

It seemed odd that I hadn't decided to visit the beach yet, even with the rather depressing weather. After all, there's nothing quite like surfing in the middle of a raging storm. Deadly for humans, but exhilarating for someone like me, 'cause it's going to take a lot more than some water in my lungs to kill me.

Clearing his throat, Carlisle said, "Oh, we've been here a few years, but we've never really visited the beaches." His eyes were clouded, hiding something, but I did not want to press for information.

"You can join us if you want!" exclaimed Sophia with a grin. "I hear the weather reports say that next Saturday is going to be _sunny_!" Damn, she was taunting them about sunlight. She really had a warped sense of humour sometimes. I thought she promised me that she'd behave. The corners of my lips tugged up as I struggled to retain an air of composure.

"Sunday will be sunnier," blurted out Alice. We all looked at her with curious expressions. From the corner of my vision, I saw Corrin give me a light wink.

"How do you know? The weather reports all say Saturday," asked Corrin in a deceptively innocent voice. He knew she was physic and he knew she was probably right. Why does my family like to mess with vampires?

Alice squeaked, "Perhaps we watched different reports."

"All right then…" Corrin trailed off. "Anyway, using my awesome ninja physic senses," at this point he pressed his fingers to his temple to reiterate his point, "I can see that we shall convince y'all to come to the beach with us by Friday."

Laughing, I replied, "If you are physic, then I can fly."

"Let's push you off the cliff and see whether that's true or not," riposted Corrin immediately. Sometimes he comes off as being dull as a spoon, but that's just so he could hide his razor sharp wit.

Jasper rubbed the back of his neck, his mouth twisted down slightly at the corners, "Sorry, but we are not exactly welcome on the reservation. I apologise, but I doubt we can attend."

"Why aren't you welcome there?" Angela asked, stealing the words right out of my mouth.

"Long story," chuckled Carlisle nervously. Edward ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit that more often than not, left his hair in a worse off state than before.

Shrugging, I turned to Sophia; trying to change the subject, as it was obvious they were not going to say any more, "Do you have any spare swim wear? I forgot mine."

"Why not go in your birthday suit?" she asked slyly, wiggling her eyebrows while spearing some of her salad onto her fork.

"Hell no! I am never doing that again!" I retorted in a knee-jerk reaction. Raising an eyebrow, a curious smile on her lips, Rosalie asked, "What do you mean "again"?"

Under my breath, I cursed and felt the heat rise to my cheeks at a steady pace. I did not want to bring up that particularly embarrassing incident. Clearing my throat nervously, I tried to deflect the conversation, "Nothing, don't worry about it. So Sophia, do you have a spare for me?"

"Yeah I do," she replied easily before continuing, "And she went skinny dipping for her sweet sixteenth." Technically, I was much older than that when I did jump into the lake naked, but for the merit of the conversation, I guess Sophia decided that I was sixteen when I tried it.

The only reason I went swimming in the nude was because I had no bathing clothes, and I was too lazy to get new ones. When Corrin and Sophia came out to check on me, I screamed, thinking it was a rather creepy human boy that had been irritating me in the weeks before. Now my family never let me live that moment down.

"Shut up!" I hissed at her. This is a reason why I hated having a family with a perfect memory. They always remembered your most embarrassing moments and retold it constantly. I buried my face in my hands and tried to tune everyone out. My cheeks surpassed rosy red and were hitting fireman truck red.

Interrupting Corrin – who was incidentally about to introduce some more "embarrassing Bella moments" into the conversations – I asked whether we should pack a picnic for the weekend, and he heartily agreed, his mind now elsewhere, thinking of what we should bring.

"We should stay a little while after the sun sets. I heard that the locals tell scary tribal stories sometimes, and if we are lucky, we can hear some," Sophia added in a thoughtful tone.

"Scary tribal stories?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. I highly doubted any story could be classified as scary anymore to my siblings and me.

Nodding, Corrin said, "That's what Google tells me when I searched this area up. I heard that they tell legends of werewolves and vampires."

"They are all fables though aren't they?" asked Rosalie in a monotone. Bringing vampires up was probably making them uncomfortable, yet again.

"Of course they are," Corrin replied, rolling his eyes. "No way is there any vampires in the Olympic area. All vampires live in Transylvania and hide from the sun and garlic." Stifling a laugh, Corrin and I ate some more of the delicious food set before us. Sophia added lightly, "They run from wooden sticks too, don't forget."

Angela added in on our banter, "And they make regular trips to the Blood Bank." At Angela's mild comment, Corrin, Sophia and I lost it and we began laughing. The Cullen's gave weak smiles and ate some more food. Their faces scrunched up as food went down their gullet. Everyone's plates were all nearly empty, so I knew dessert would come out soon.

Taking a sip of my drink, I heard Sophia recovering from her giggling fit and asked, "Carlisle, I heard from Bella that you're a doctor. I was wondering what areas you specialised in."

"Various areas, but I like to concentrate on surgeries. It is fascinating and fulfilling to fix someone back together," Carlisle stated, a hint of pride colouring his voice.

Her eyes widened as she realised the restraint a vampire would need to stay away from copious amounts of their favourite elixir. It seems Carlisle just gained some more respect from her.

Scrunching her nose, Sophia enquired, "How can you stand all that blood?" At the casual comment, the Cullen's blanched, and I was freaking out a little, but then I heard her finish what she was saying, "Sawing into bones and muscles, doesn't that freak you out?"

Carlisle noticeably relaxed and said calmly, "I do not have difficulties with the gore. In fact, I find it fascinating to safety see inside people to repair them up from within."

"Well, I think it would be awesome to be a neurosurgeon. It would be amazing to find out how the human mind works," inserted Corrin with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Haha, you can find out what's going inside Bella's crazy head," laughed Angela.

Pouting, I crossed my arms and muttered, "I resent that comment. There's nothing wrong with my head."

"If I didn't grow up with you, I would say you were dropped on the head repeatedly as a baby," Corrin added lightly. Mature as ever, I just stuck my tongue out at him.

*******

**EPOV**

Conversation was definitely easy with Bella's family. It was easily demonstrated to us how comfortable they all were together. We may pose and act like a family, but these people showed us the true meaning of it; their words, their actions, showing the comfort you can only get from growing up with one another. Something our coven, our family, our whatever you want to call it, lacks due to the fact we were pushed together. So it was rather riveting to experience an actual sit down dinner.

Eating was more taxing however. Especially on Jasper and I. Jasper could feel and experience the waves of disgust rolling off everybody as they ate the food, which worsened his experience. But I could hear their thoughts, and to an extent, I could feel the food sliding down their throat. The combined feelings were unsettling. The only benefit of the food was that it masked the smells of Angela.

Strangely enough, Sophia smelled similar to Bella and Corrin – nice, but not so tempting that we struggled against the want to pounce and drain her. Out of the four, Angela smelled the most tempting, although when compared to other humans, she was average.

Sophia having such a strong scented relation is uncanny. Bella and Corrin are obviously not related to Sophia; what with her straight black hair and her darker skin. Her words clipped a little at the end, and I found her accent erratic to place, as though she was taught to speak with a variety of people in a variety of places. Her exotic nature oozed out of her pores and gave off a slight aura of mystery that eluded Bella and her brother. Though, they were secretive in their own ways, Sophia was certainly a puzzle.

What surprised me the most was Sophia's mental silence. I had pinned Corrin and Bella's to genetics. But the chances of two silent minded people getting together are worse than the chances of winning the lottery twice in a row.

Speaking of Sophia, she chanced a glance at me when Bella was preoccupied with her pumpkin soup. She flashed me a deceivingly friendly smile, which showed off her impressively sharp canine teeth, and mouthed the words, "I don't mind you two together," at which she jerked her head at Bella, "but you hurt her and I will hunt you down and make you wish were never born. Understand?"

I nodded, glad that she approved (sort of) and that most of my family were engaged in conversation with Corrin and Angela to notice our exchange. Grinning, she turned back to her meal, and I to mine. The food looked absolutely wonderful from a human viewpoint, but to actually have to smell and swallow the disgustingly greasy and slimy chicken was nauseating.

The pumpkin soup was a little better, but it was warm and chunky, especially sticky running down our sensitive throats. Vegetables were instantly mushed up in our mouths, courtesy of our strong jaws and razor sharp teeth, but it made the trip to our stomach all the worse.

Although we smuggled as much food as possible to strategically placed napkins on our laps, manners and courtesy still demanded that we ate a fair amount of the dish. And at the moment, all of our stomachs were churning, and not just because of the food.

With the constant references to vampires, and the werewolves of La Push, we all collectively could not help but wonder whether they knew about us. However, their light-hearted jests stilled most of our concerns, but we all held onto an underlying current of worry and fear.

As there was a lull in conversation – not an uncomfortable pause, merely a relaxed silent one – Rosalie asked, "Which one owns the nice ride out on your driveway?"

Her thoughts rewound to the motorcycle she saw in the driveway. It was sleek, black, shiny and huge. Even at a rest it looked as though it could easily rival some of the cars in our garage. In my eagerness and nervousness of the dinner, I had overlooked it.

"That's mine," Bella piped up, tucking some stray tendrils of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear, smiling at our gob smacked faces.

_When did Bella get a motorcycle?_ That was what everyone was thinking to an extent.

Rosalie cried out, "Damn, you have one fine ride! Did you do the work on the engine yourself?"

"Nah," responded Bella. "Corrin did all that. He gave to me as a birthday gift."

Rosalie looked at Corrin in a new light, her opinion of him tinged with a little more respect and adoration. Quickly, they were busied with a conversation about engines and particular vehicles.

"WHAT? Bella, why didn't you say it was your birthday?" yelped Alice. Her mind was reeling with possible party and gift ideas, colours and designs swirling throughout her mind at an unmeasurable pace.

"Alice, calm down," said Bella anxiously, obviously understanding what she was thinking. "My birthday was over a month ago. Call the bike –"

"– and the helmet, jacket and electronic music player," interrupted Sophia with a grin.

Smiling back, Bella said, "Yes, those too. Anyway, they were sort of just belated gifts." She ended with a shrug and looked at me. "Do you want to go for a spin in it with me later?"

"Can you drive it?" I asked, my tone teasing. But it was a serious concern for me. I did not want her to crash and burn. Bella looked as fragile as a butterfly sometimes. Her skin looked like silk above glass. But at times, I wondered if the silk was just covering a diamond hard base.

Scoffing, Bella snapped back playfully, her voice sounding slightly affronted, "Of course I can drive. I'm better than Corrin. Not that that's saying much."

"Ha, I'd like to see the day you beat me!" interrupted Corrin, snapping out of his conversation with Rosalie.

With a smug expression, Bella crossed her arms and challenged Corrin, "Name the time and place." Her brown eyes were lit up with amusement and seemingly sparkled in the light.

"You're on," smirked Corrin, his white teeth flashing in the artificial light of the room. His wife just rolled her eyes and muttered lightly under her breath, "Can those two ever go without setting a competition against one another?"

Esme looked worried and began to voice her concerns, "I'm sorry, this may sound out of place, but surely drag racing is dangerous? Do you not fear for your safety? Or the safety of those around you?"

Sophia snorted quietly, but Corrin and Bella chose to ignore her. Corrin explained, "Well, we were going to go somewhere secluded to ensure no one else is in harm's way. But even if we were on a busy highway, I doubt we would harm anyone. Though we are not naïve, I am confidant that neither of us will crash – we both possess… faster reflexes than the normal person."

It sounded as though he was alluding to something more, but there was no way we could press for more. If there was more to tell, that is. My mind rebelled against the idea of Bella being something… different, but a gut feeling told me it made sense.

Shaking the thought out of my head, I forced myself to take another bite of the disgusting human food and heard Jasper talking to Corrin, asking what he did for a living, and we were all mildly shocked to learn he worked as a detective.

When asked why he pursued such a physically and somewhat mentally demanding career, he simply answered, "Our dad," he indicated to Bella and himself, "was a policeman and I feel as though I should follow in his footsteps, sort of. Anyway, like a doctor, I can save lives."

"Do you use a gun?" asked Emmett eagerly.

Nodding, Corrin said, "Yeah, but I try not to. I only use it as a last resort."

Alice turned to Sophia and inquired also about her work. To that Sophia replied, "I make and design clothes. Not really famous stuff, but nice small things. You know, I like making everything have a more personal feel, so everything I make is unique and tailored to the person in question."

At the mention of designing clothes, Alice's eyes lit up, and in that moment, I knew Alice and Sophia were going to get extremely close.

Conversation at that point was split as Jasper and Emmett happily monopolised Corrin and chatted about his career. Sophia was discussing with Rosalie and Esme the technique she used in her paint job of Bella's motorcycle. Carlisle was also engaged in conversation, talking to Angela about her grandmother; giving tips on how to look after her properly when she departed from the Seattle hospital.

Which left me to talk to Bella. I didn't mind that at all. Conversation with her was always riveting and I would need a particularly interesting conversation to stem and control the excessive babble that wouldn't cease from everybody. I knew that in fact it was rather quiet, not overbearingly quiet, but not so loud that everybody needed to yell to be heard. Yet, my mind was reeling with thoughts and words tumbling out of everybody.

Turning to Bella, I mumbled, "Why have you been trying so hard to hide such a wonderful family?"

She raised her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug and replied quietly, "This part of my family isn't the ones that worry me." It was incredibly cryptic and gave more questions than answers. Yet by the set of her jaw and the little frown on her mouth, I knew she didn't want to talk. Over the weeks we've been together, I've had to rely on facial expressions to give away her thoughts, and I was getting progressively at foreseeing her reactions from her stance, her expression, and her tone.

In a way, Bella was a learning experience for me. She was helping me – us, my family – connect again to people in unexpected ways. This dinner alone was a prime example. Before, we would have sat generally quiet, agitated, and we'd be grimacing at the food set before us. But looking at us interact so easily with non-vampires was incredible. Even Rosalie stopped mentally complaining about the food. A little bit anyway.

Esme's voice tinkled through the onslaught of voices, and I heard her complimenting the food, a comment which made Sophia's eyes light up and she began to chat at a rapid pace about her cooking styles, asking Esme for hers. Luckily she remembered enough from her human life to answer back tentatively.

Bella and I strayed away from the awkward topic of her family and into more comfortable zones. I knew it wouldn't do to attempt to pry the secret and truths out of her now, so I resigned myself to learn about her in other ways. Bella always did surprise me (I never had any clue she had been skydiving) and I knew I could spend a few hundred years questioning her, but she would always remain a mystery to me.

*******

**BPOV**

After Sophia and I cleared the table, Corrin brought in the cake that Sophia spent ages decorating over. To a human, she spent a very short amount of time caring over its appearances, but to an immortal with superhuman speed; she spent a while working over it.

Licking my lips, I tucked into my slice of cake as soon as it was placed in front of me. The night was going much, much better than I thought. The Cullen's natural charm were easily winning my family over, and by the end of the night, I would hopefully have permission to tell the Cullen's of what we were. What I am.

But would they accept me? Or would they cast me out like the freak I am? Perhaps they'd try to attack me? Before my secret fears could eat me up from within and cause me to experience a panic attack at the dining table – something that was not an especially smart idea – I pushed the thoughts away and busied myself with my cake.

It was delicious as per usual, and I found myself with an empty plate all too quickly. So I began stealing off Corrin who ended up slapping my greedy hands away.

"Go get another slice," said Corrin distractedly; he was occupied with getting my hands away from his precious slice of cake.

After successfully grabbing a bite or two, I leaned back in my chair and pouted. "What ever happened to chivalry and to helping out a girl?" I gave him my doe eyes, and he nearly cracked, but then he had to go and look away.

Pretending to shield his eyes from me, he retorted, "It's not like you women are totally defenceless! Look at the way you tried to get my cake, just then."

"Moi? What did I do?" I asked in turn, my voice dripping with innocence, my doe eyes back in effect.

Narrowing his eyes at me, he said, "You know what."

Rolling my eyes, I started stealing bites off Edward, who ended up just giving me his slice. It made me grin widely at him, and I poked my tongue out at Corrin and said, "See? My knight in shining armour." At the end, I pretended to swoon, before I snorted in disbelief. "Chivalry is overrated," I concluded before tucking into the cake set before me.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Edward; his eyes alight with both curiosity and confusion.

"Well," I started explaining, after finishing a bite, "there is an incredibly fine line between chivalry and sexism."

Jasper was getting intrigued, and soon enough, it led to a fully-fledged conversation on whether opening doors for women was degrading.

Angela hummed in contentment as she ate dessert, mostly quiet for many parts of the discussion, and when she swallowed her current bite, she turned to me and mumbled in a voice so only I could hear (or so she thought), "Hey, I found out the other day why Lauren doesn't like you."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked immediately, whispering in the same voice, even though I was fully aware that everyone could hear, regardless that they were all absorbed in conversations of their own.

She began to rebut in a defensive tone, "You were busy gallivanting outside with Corrin and –"

"_Gallivanting_? Who says that anymore?" I interrupted.

"Hush now, Bella. I just said it then," she replied dismissively. "Anyway –"

Interrupting her again, I said, "Well, I thought only old people threw that word around in casual sentences."

"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not Bella?" snapped Angela impatiently. Raising my hands in defeat, I motioned for her to continue.

"Anyway, you were outside, running around or doing who knows what and I found out from Ben that Lauren likes Tyler."

"So? She can have him, I don't like him even as a friend," I remarked lightly. "How does _Ben_, of all people, know this anyway?"

"Ben talked to Jessica, and you how she is. Always gossiping about things that have nothing to do with her. But Lauren is jealous of you. Tyler has a crush on you and Lauren has somehow figured it out in her mind that you are out to "_get her_" via him." I could hear the quotation marks in her voice.

As Angela readjusted her scarf and pulled back her blonde hair, I stated, "I'll just set them up together then. She'll have to get over this misplaced notion of me if she and Tyler are together."

"Playing matchmaker? Do you like doing this kind of thing?" grinned Angela.

With a relaxed tilt of the head, I answered, "If I didn't do what I did, you and Ben would still be dancing around one another's affections and Corrin and Sophia would still be in denial about their feelings for one another."

Angela blushed and I swore that I saw Sophia flush red too. It was harder to tell with her darker skin, but there was almost certainly that reddish tinge to it. My phone vibrated to indicate that I received a text message. Putting a finger up to Angela to tell her that I would talk after I finished reading the message, I flipped my phone open with interest, wondering who was trying to contact me.

_From: Private number._

_Hello Isabella. Hopefully  
we shall talk face-to-face  
very soon. I hope you  
are enjoying dinner…  
Say hello to Sophia for  
me._

Who was this? Usually my contacts, which consisted of my family, the vampire and human friends I've encountered over the years, never blocked their number when they wanted to reach me. And when they contacted me, it was usually via calls or emails.

Who wanted me to say hello to Sophia for them? But then again, Sophia hates mobile phones and therefore refuses to own one, and she's given my number out on more than one occasion to a hotel or something, but they never texted me. Managers and stuff call me, but never has one texted me. It was thought of as too informal. So I pushed that reasoning out of my mind.

What was the oddest thing was not the vagueness of the message, but one word: Isabella. Nobody alive knew it was my proper name (because with this new day and age, I preferred Bella), or if they did they never used it. Everyone I talk to knows to call me Bella. The only person to purposely antagonise me with it was…

Annalie.

Oh God no. It couldn't be her, could it?

_How the hell did she get my number?_ I froze in place and all the blood rushed from my face as I reread the message. She knew I was having dinner. It could be a coincidental guess considering it was dinnertime here, and maybe she took the time to calculate time zone differences from Germany. But it seemed more plausible and more her style to hunt me down.

With a swift motion, I stood up and hurriedly excused myself from the table, tearing myself away from the curious faces and probing questions.

Quickly ascending the stairs, I rushed into my room and changed into some of the clothes I had that were fire resistant and easy to move and fight in. There were two reasons for me to waste some time to change into fireproof clothes. The first of the pair being that Sophia and Corrin will understand immediately what is going on once they see in me in this attire. The next was because – and this may sound superficial – I didn't want to ruin my nicer clothes.

Being nearly a couple centuries old, I was definitely strong enough to expand my physical shield and snap it around to protect my clothes. But the glitch was that the further away my shield was from my body, no matter how small the distance, the weaker it was. So it was essential that nobody was too close to me when I was fighting Annalie, because I would be wasting energy trying to protect them too.

It's not to say that I couldn't. I could spread out my barriers to quite a distance, and even then it would be hard for a vampire to break through them. But Annalie and I cannot be blocked by each other's barrier; a side effect to being fraternal twins. Fire and other things can be stopped, but our shields hold no defence against one another. For example, if I were to be slapped by Annalie, her hand would pass through and hit me – and anything she was holding or wearing – but if she threw a rock at me, it would simply bounce off.

However, I needed the shield to be skin tight to ward off her flames, fuelled by hatred, resentment and anger. Emotions constantly effect out fires. That's why I find it beneficial to meditate and relax, so then when I get mad, I have enough self-control not to burst into flames and harm the lives of others. Annalie however, from my experience with her, doesn't care about that.

Because she wasn't very cooperative with me, I didn't know the extent of her abilities, but I would wager to say that they were pretty much identical to my own, except our skills varied slightly. I can snap off very, very small portions of my shield to protect other objects; which was how all our reed whistles were fire and scratch proof. Yet even stretching and snapping off such a small portion of my barrier was hard work. I thought it was worth it to protect our whistles from wear and tear.

The only ability I had over her was my invisible armour. Love and happiness seemingly made it tougher. Hate and anger counteracted that by increasing the ferocity of her fires. It was like a catch 22; a no-win situation.

Finished changing clothes, I scuttled back downstairs and was met with surprised faces as they looked at my new attire. It looked like a basic T-shirt and pants combo, but I think they were more shocked as to why I was in new clothes.

My voice came out a little strangled as I politely requested a private audience with Corrin and Sophia.

They came into the kitchen with me, out of sight and far beyond the reaches of the human hearing range. There was no way I wanted the vampires to hear me, so I used my hands to speak in sign language. Sign language was good for using as a covert signalling system seeing as the vampires were definitely out of line of sight. Only problem was it would take longer to convey messages. Thankfully, they seemed to already get that Annalie was worrying me.

"_What set you off? What was in that text message?_" signed Corrin frantically, his hands moving at a rapid fire pace as he tried to assure that I was all right.

Nodding, I showed both him and Sophia the message, and as he read it, his mouth went into a thin line and he began to hurriedly talk to me again. Sophia blanched a little at her mention, but locked eyes with me in a steely gaze; she would not be intimidated.

"_Bella, are you sure you want to go do this? Are you sure you want to confront her now; that's assuming she is indeed here?_" he asked me.

Nodding again, I had more pressing matters to talk about, "_I don't know whether she'll be here or not, but I am hoping she's not. This is not a good time for a fight to break out. What I want to know now is whether you trust the Cullen's with our secret or not. Well?_"

Sophia exchanged a glance with Corrin, and after a pause, she said with her hands, "_They seem to be all you've told us about them. Once chance, they get one chance. You can tell them tomorrow when you get back._"

I noticed that they were all thinking rather positive saying "when" I get back, rather than "if" I'll come back.

Giving them a strained grin, I replied, "_Oh don't worry, I'll be back. It'll take more than Annalie to get rid of me._" At this point, I decided that I should whisper the next part of the message, "I love you both, and don't forget that. Don't come looking for me; I'll call when I want to talk." The last part of that was as much for the vampires as it was for my family. Signing again, I stated, "_Listen for my whistle._"

Shaking their heads, inclining that they understood, they both enveloped me in a tight hug, whispering words of love to me as well.

This was neither the time nor place for Corrin to argue for him to take my place and for that I was thankful. Sometimes he would insist to go search for Annalie, even though he and I both know only I have the power to stop all this.

I can only hope that I can resolve this misunderstanding without a fight. Yet my gut knew that a fight was surely inevitable.

"_One more thing,_" I signed quickly, "_when I leave, so will my protection for your thoughts against Edward's mind reading._"

Sophia nodded and Corrin motioned for her to look at his hands, "_I can tell he can be blocked. If you concentrate on something else, that's all he's going to hear. For example, I'll be singing Britney Spears constantly._"

Smirking, I raised an eyebrow at him and said with my hands, "_You're never going to pass off the chance to torment my boyfriend, are you?_"

"Nope," he said smugly. Then he signed, "_What else are older brothers for?_"

Taking a deep breath, I walked back into the dining room and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck from behind – a task made easier seeing as he was sitting down – and then I leant down and gave him a chaste kiss on his icy cold forehead.

Turning to Angela and the rest of the Cullen's, I said, "I have to leave, sorry about that. Don't worry about it though; Sophia and Corrin don't bite. Angela, I might not be back until morning, so don't wait up. Cullen's, if you don't mind, I was wondering whether I could go to your house at around 9am? There are some rather important things I need to tell you..." I trailed off.

Carlisle replied, "Of course Bella. You are always welcome in our house. But may I inquire as to why you are going?"

Waving off his questions, I answered, "I'll tell you all later." Grabbing an apple from the centrepiece of the table, I said hurried goodbyes, and took a huge bite of the apple as I left the room.

Putting on my jacket, struggling a bit as I had an apple in my hands, I felt cool hands take the jacket and they began to gently guide my limbs into their respective spots. Turning around, I looked into Edward's eyes. They were brimming with confusion and worry. As his cold hand cupped my cheek, he looked deep into my eyes, a sweet gesture that never failed to bring a blush to my cheeks.

"Nice jacket," commented Edward lightly, clearly struggling not to pry into something that was obviously private.

Smiling weakly, I zipped it closed and said, "Yeah, Sophia's really good at stuff like this."

Quickly, Edward wrapped his cold arms around my burning frame, and he kissed my forehead, mirroring somewhat what I did earlier. I smiled again, this time with a more genuine gusto. "Bye Edward," I whispered, as I reluctantly pulled myself out of his grasp.

Running to the driveway, I pulled the helmet on and threw away the apple core into the garden to decompose. Now, there was no more time to procrastinate. Revving the engine, I sped out of the drive and into the street.

I had a family reunion coming up.

*******

**A/N: Oh my God. *Evil laugh*. Yes, I had the audacity to leave you all on a cliffhanger. **

**Can you also tell me what you think about Corrin and Sophia? Did I make you like my "own" characters, or do you hate them, or what? Are they too overwhelming or am I leaving too much to the imagination? Oh, and do you think Annalie deserves to live or die? Please tell.**

**By the way, before you ask, though I did mention Jacob Black - something I couldn't help but insert - I really doubt he will be popping up anywhere in this story. That would just complicate things way too much, even for me.**

**Things may be looking simple enough, but I have several MASSIVE twists planned... *Incredibly evil laugh*.**

**A piece of cake for reading. But another chapter and Edward's slice of cake for reviewing. ;-)**


	12. Monster Fight

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: I updated, but I wanted to say that there were a few extremely rude people demanding an update. I don't mind the playful threats, but some of you hurt my feelings by being so rude. That's a no-no in my book. So if you want to ask for an update, be polite. Flames, I can deal with, but I hate pushy, rude people.**

**Some people complained that the Cullen's didn't talk enough, so I added a little extra dinner in EPOV. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and all related articles are owned by Stephenie Meyer. However, this plot line is all mine!**

*******

**EPOV**

Bella had been unleashing her big, brown, beautiful eyes onto her sibling in an effort to get some more cake. Her efforts were rather adorable to say the least. Personally, I was surprised to see Corrin stand his ground, seemingly immune to Bella's charms.

In the end, she "stole" my cake, which in reality I had happily gave to her. The cake, although beautifully decorated, was worse than most of the dinner to eat. The crumbly cake had quickly thickened with the venom pooling in our mouths and when swallowed, had slid slowly down our throats, no matter what the speed our throat muscles contracted to push it all down.

Rosalie was pissed that I was able to give away a little portion of the disgusting human meal, as it was my girlfriend that put us in this position in the first place. Though her thoughts were not entirely antagonistic, she kept up a constant stream of insults and complaints that I hurriedly attempted to block to little avail.

We were currently discussing whether chivalry counted as a mild form of sexism and it was rather intriguing. Sophia was an active member of feminism and she was opposed strongly to male oppression. Bella was more milder in the subject and Corrin had enough brains to stay out of the conversation altogether.

All the men in my family were borne in the days were chivalry was the norm. Emmett was the least accustomed to it, but he was still more of a gentleman than many of the boys in this day and age. So it was indeed confronting to learn that Sophia, and to a degree, Bella, found gestures like this degrading.

"What is wrong with opening a door for a lady?" argued Jasper, his southern accent playing up heavily as he engaged in the debate.

"Does that not imply that the male feels as though the female cannot open her door?" countered Sophia smoothly; her eyebrow was raised, as though she was daring him to argue back.

"No," spluttered Jasper. "It is polite to do such things to the gentler of the sexes."

"_Gentler_?" growled Sophia with a disbelieving tone, a frown on her features.

"Oh God, you're dead now Jasper," muttered Corrin lightly under his breath, the smile on his face indicating that he was enjoying the show.

"Have you guys ever seen Bella fight?" asked Sophia lightly. Bella's head whipped around as she was mentioned. "No, we haven't," answered Emmett.

"Well, if you did, you wouldn't call us the "gentler" of the sexes, believe you me," she concluded with an inelegant snort.

"So, if she wanted to, she could take me down?" queried Emmett with a jovial tone, clearing doubting that tiny little Bella could pull it off, even if he wasn't a vampire. Not to be sexist or anything, but I agreed with him; Emmett was huge.

"Yeah, I could if I wanted to," answered Bella, shrugging with indifference. Her mind was clearly elsewhere, and I vaguely wondered whether she knew what she had just said.

"Bella, no offence and all, but even for a girl, you are tiny," Emmett chuckled. His comment was probably not the best idea as Sophia and Bella's head snapped around to challenge him. Corrin was grinning broadly, looking at the scene as though an explosion was about to happen.

"What?" shrugged Emmett, totally clueless.

Bella snorted ungracefully and said, "I can take Corrin on blindfolded. You'll be easy to take down. Am I correct in my assumptions that you've never participated in high level martial arts?"

With Emmett nodding confusedly, Sophia concluded, "Bella trains, a lot. And sometimes two-on-one won't beat her."

"Well then, Bella is the exception to the rule," concluded Emmett, smiling widely, effectively showing his dimples.

Sophia opened her mouth, clearly about to start up a huge rant about female stereotypes, but Corrin lightly placed his hand on her arm and murmured in her ear, "Honey, as much as I like to see people other than me get their asses handed to them with your passionate speeches, you can't tonight. They are _guests _after all." His words instantly made her freeze, and his soothing touch made relax.

Shaking her head, she turned back to her food and Corrin shot Emmett a look clearly saying that he was lucky to have missed the fallout.

At that point, conversation broke apart into several parts. Jasper and Carlisle were heatedly chatting with Sophia about what should be considered sexist in this day and age, clearly continuing the conversation. Rosalie was smart and kept Emmet busy with conversations leading far away from controversial subjects.

Esme muttered in my ear, "My, my, Bella's family is wonderful company!" As I turned to reply, I noticed that Bella had stiffened in her seat, her face visibly paled. Her wide eyes were fixed on the screen of her phone. When I went to ask whether she was all right or not, she hurriedly stood up and made excuses to leave the table.

With raised eyebrows, I turned my attention back to the table, unsure if I should pursue her or not. After all, she looked ... scared? No, that wasn't right ... she looked unsettled at the very least. And worried, she was definitely worried. I wondered what shook her up so much, and my defensive side was beginning to flare up. Bella would never have to face additional dangers, I was sure that I could help her.

Everyone was confused to Bella's reaction to some degree, even her family, judging by their faces. Corrin and Sophia shared a loaded glance, but they were definitely unsure to what just passed.

Quicker than we thought possible, Bella returned to us in a whole new outfit and asked to talk to her brother and sister in law in private. Her voice was slightly strained and by the minor tightening of her eyes, I could tell she was apprehensive about something.

Though my family and I assumed that we would be able to hear their conversation, we were sorely mistaken. Judging by the sounds I heard, they were not talking at all. But Jasper – who was closer to them – noted mildly in his head that he heard the faint sounds of flesh slapping against flesh.

Always thinking tactically as a way to figure mysteries out, he recalled how they used a covert messing whistle system earlier yesterday at school. Then he mentally theorised that there was a strong possibility that they were doing the same now; probably something like that of sign language.

His reasoning was fairly realistic and I thought it quite plausible. But all it did was make me more curious that they didn't want to risk even whispering whatever it was to one another.

Angela was munching quietly on the last bite of her cake, and as she wiped away the crumbs from the corners of her mouth, she turned to us and whispered, "Do any of you know what's wrong with Bella?" Her thoughts radiated severe concern and true emotions of care. All of us said that we had no knowledge of what happened.

At that moment, we (excluding Angela) heard a whisper from the kitchen, and it was Bella talking to her family, "I love you both, and don't forget that. Don't come looking for me; I'll call when I want to talk."

Alice breathed in sharply; she thought the same thing as me. _Was Bella leaving us?_ I didn't want her to go. The thought alone was creating an ache in my stomach. The rest of my family had muddled thoughts and they were thinking a variety of things, but all I could concentrate on was the fact that Bella was leaving.

Was it us? Did she find out what we were? Or was it another matter entirely? What could possibly create such a reaction from her that she had to leave? So many questions swarmed in my head and there were no answers. None at all. I immensely disliked the feeling of the unknown. Being able to read minds allowed me more knowledge than most were privy to, but never before had I felt the crushing weight of not knowing so strongly.

When Bella and her siblings walked in, we all noticeably straightened, alert for any problems that she was about to tell us. Stiffly, she turned to us and in a weary voice she told us, "I have to leave, sorry about that. Don't worry about it though; Sophia and Corrin don't bite. Angela, I might not be back until morning, so don't wait up. Cullen's, if you don't mind, I was wondering whether I could go to your house at around 9am? There are some rather important things I need to tell you..."

At first, all that registered was relief. Bella, my Bella, wasn't leaving. But then apprehension crept into my veins as she mentioned a "talk". That ruled out some theories, but also created a few more.

Carlisle asked where she was going to go, but she casually brushed off the question and grabbed some fruit. An apple. It almost made me smile, because it reminded me of our first date; the school dance, when she ate a dish consisting of apple related products. However, she was already saying goodbyes and she was leaving.

Ignoring the glances of those seated around the table, I followed Bella to the hallway, where she was struggling to put on a jacket. Instinctively, I helped her slide her arms in. She turned around and I stared into her beautiful brown eyes, swimming with an array of emotions.

Talking was hard; there was so many things I wanted to say, but couldn't. We were from different worlds; and it didn't help that our families were in the next room.

My heart tugged as she told me goodbye. I've heard those words dozens of times before, but not in such a way as she just delivered. Her tone was more final, more resigned, and more nervous. Though I desperately wanted her to stay, I knew I couldn't force her to, so I let her go.

Bella had already left, but I waited until I heard the roar of her new vehicle before I made my way back.

*******

Conversation was already restarted as I entered the dining room. The table was cleared and I was inwardly happy that there was no more need for the eating pretences. My stomach was churning and I knew I would have to empty it soon enough. But I knew it wasn't just the food that had it churning.

As I sat down, I noticed something odd. The voices in my head, the thoughts of those around me seemed louder, more jumbled up than before. Frowning slightly, I cocked my head to the side and listened, trying to discern particular voices through the muddle.

That's when I staring hearing a low gruff tone singing. It was new; I could recall every mental voice I had ever heard and this was definitely new. There was also a quieter murmur, thinking about translating the entire works of Jane Austen into ancient Greek.

Confused, I kept listening and it came to be an immense shock to learn that I was listening to Corrin and Sophia.

My eyes widened for a fraction of a second before I regained control and Alice and Jasper looked at me curiously. With my eyes, I told them that I would tell them later. For some reason I felt paranoid that Corrin and Sophia would be able to hear us, even if we whispered at a level humans couldn't hear at.

Their thoughts were so queer for me; they thought like Alice when she wanted to block me. But surely it was impossible for them to know what I could do?

Questions were different now, with Bella gone. Corrin and Sophia asked intently about how Bella was going, how she was acting and such were their line of questioning. They seemed worried about her, but our answers relaxed them a bit.

Jasper also noted with immense surprise that he could feel the pair's emotions as well, but it wasn't as disconcerting to him as it was to me.

We learned a bit more about Bella's childhood and we also heard a bit more about themselves.

The night was getting late and so we left the house on good terms. Once we drove away, everyone launched into a babble of conversation of what just passed.

*******

**BPOV**

She wasn't here.

My sister wasn't here.

The sheer disappointment I felt was crushing. In a sad way, I liked the fights between my sister and I. Even though they were fights of some of the most intense nature, I could not help but feel a little happy to spend time with my sister, albeit not in a very conventional manner.

Fighting was the only way I really could see whether she was all right or not, noting the ferocity of her attacks and her strengths. Annalie may have wanted my guts, she may have wanted me dead, but I could never find myself to land the deadly blow.

She was my sister and I felt I needed to look out for her, even if she didn't care for me. Her logic was flawed in blaming me, but I knew that our parent's death hit her harder than either Corrin or me. That was not to say she missed them more; it was more the fact that she couldn't cope with it as well. Losing both biological parents and what was basically another parent in one go devastated all of us.

However, she felt that the blame rested on me instead on Victoria. To the best of my knowledge, Annalie was looking for her too, but Victoria was gifted with the power of evasion. Hell, I knew it first hand when I tried my hand at tracking the backstabber down. It didn't work so well. Annalie was a little easier. Her habits, her little mess-ups were a tad easier to track.

Throughout the century and a bit, I never really established a regular contact system with her. We only talked when she came to me, or when I spend months looking for her. That girl was skilled at evasion.

I had been searching for her for hours upon hours and there was no trace, no sign, no nothing. If she had even come here in the passing, I would have had some clue to her existence. Sighing, I leaned against a tree and slowly slid downwards, my backside eventually hitting the dirt floor, relief and apprehension mixing within me as I realised that there was no threat.

Annalie was messing with me. Again.

Looking up at the stormy skies, noting how a storm was approaching fast, I let my mind wander a bit.

I remembered when we were children and how she used to love devising riddles for Corrin and me to solve. They were terribly hard, but where all in good fun. Over the years, I've noticed that she likes to play games. Calling me, sending me vague messages in the mail, all to make me anxious, to make me hope that she's forgiven me. The text that I assumed she sent didn't fit the pattern, but then again, people change. Maybe she was trying a new game.

The murders of my parents were justifiably not my fault in the slightest. Yet, the blame Annalie heaped on me made it feel like that was the case.

Tired from lack of sleep, I stretched hard; lifting my hands high above my head and wincing a little from hearing cracks pop up and along my spine. Stifling a loud yawn, I looked at the clock on my phone. It was nearly 8:50am. If I did not hurry, I would be late for my "appointment" with the Cullen's.

Flipping my phone open, I dialled Corrin's phone and it picked up on the first ring. Corrin's worried voice flowed through the speaker and into my ear.

"Bella? Are you all right? Where are you? Did you see her?" His anxious streams of questions seemed relentless and I had a strong feeling he was worried sick all night for me.

Knowing that if the tables were turned, if Corrin was the one in danger, under threat, I would want the information immediately, I hurriedly told him I was safe and that Annalie was no where to be found.

As we chatted, I casually walked to my motorcycle. As I reached the vehicle, Corrin told me that they would arrive roughly five minutes after I got there because they were "hunting". I knew they were looking for Annalie and I, but I didn't call them out on it. The gesture was sweet enough. All they mentioned was that there was another vampire scent they passed, but it was weak and seemingly harmless.

Revving the engine after Corrin hung up, I gulped, my nerves frayed. I was going to the Cullen's to tell them. I was about to willingly release the secret, my secret, and my family's secret. But I had to stall the conversation a bit to wait for my siblings. In a way, I was happy for a reason to stall.

There was no way for me to see the Cullen's reaction to my information. Were they going to be accepting or would they face me with revulsion?

Even though my fears were gnawing away at me, I made my way quickly to the Cullen's, ignoring the first snowflakes that were staring to fall on the ground.

*******

**EPOV**

Alice was lounging next to me, calmly reading a fashion magazine. Though I loved her hyperactive nature to bits, I truly cherished the moments where she took a break to relax. Even though relaxing was unnecessary for a vampire.

Her head was in Jasper's lap and he was playing with her short curls. Their thoughts were content. Peaceful.

Last night's dinner went rather well, though at times it did raise more questions than answers. Eating all that food was certainly not a very pleasant experience, but it was worth it to find out that little bit more about Bella's life.

Though we have no hard-core explanations for the spontaneous thoughts and feelings sprouting from Sophia and Corrin, Carlisle and I are thinking it was connected to Bella's disappearance. Also, it matched up with what I heard in the forest, when we met them playing paintball.

From the muttered curses, I knew that Rosalie was beating Emmett in a video game. But I could easily tell from his thoughts that he was ecstatic that Rosalie was even playing with him. Usually, she declared the video games to be extremely childish, but today she willingly challenged him to a game.

Love was everywhere around me. Carlisle was slow dancing Esme to some gentle music and it was easy to see the love shining through their eyes. It was such a private moment, so I turned my attention back to my book.

It was amazing to finally know that I loved Bella. Alice kept saying she knew if for ages, but it was another thing all together to finally acknowledge it. I was eagerly waiting for Bella to come and visit. What she said last night was especially ambiguous and today was the day when answers would come.

If it were not for Jasper, I would be a jumbled mess of emotions, but he crushed me with waves of calm. In a way, I appreciated it all, but in another I felt irritated that he wouldn't let me worry in peace. But it was hard to be irritated with Jasper for long...

Sighing, I closed my book and was just thinking about going to whittle away some time by going on the piano when Alice bolted straight up, eyes far away, lost in a vision.

Within that second, I was lost in it too.

_A vampire was standing in our living room, hands on her hips in an impatient gesture. She snapped angrily, "Do any of you know a 'Sophia'? Damn it, I need to find her!" With every word, the volume increased. But then it hit silence. She started to disappear as the entire vision faded to black. The last thing we saw was the bright red of her hair, before everything was gone._

Shaking my head to clear of the last vestiges of the vision, I snapped at Alice, "When?"

Automatically, she knew that I was talking about when the visitor was coming and it was mainly out of my concern for Bella. There cannot be a vampire around her, unless they stuck to our diet. In the vision, the stranger had red eyes...

"Five minutes and they'll _both _be here, which was the reason why the vision cut out I think. Bella's presence is blocking everything," said Alice rather nervously, while the rest of the family looked on with confused expressions. Both Rosalie and Emmett had turned off their game, seeing how serious this vision was.

"Bella too?" I gasped in a panicked voice.

"Yes, Bella too. Haven't you seen the clock?" Looking at it, I saw it was nearly 9am.

"She'll be here soon. And with that new motorcycle of hers, I don't doubt that it'll be sooner rather than later," she said.

"What in the world are you two talking about? We aren't all mind readers!" cried out Emmett, exasperated from being out of the loop.

Alice quickly relayed the vision, and nearly immediately, everyone started to try and calm me down. Jasper was the most effective with his power, but their words helped too. They all spoke mental words of comfort, obviously knowing I was worried for Bella's safety.

_Control your emotions Edward! They are going haywire! We can protect Bella if worse comes to worse_, ordered Jasper.

_Calm down Edward, we can take her if things get out of hand_, thought Emmett confidently.

_Sweetheart, we've had visiting nomads before, and even though most of them don't stick to our diet, they always have respected our requests for them not to dine within this region_, thought Esme soothingly.

Rosalie was surprisingly really quiet and I had to listen hard to hear her thoughts, which was something rather new._ She's changed him so much, and in a good way. We cannot let the visitor anywhere near her_, mused Rosalie._ Sophia's not half bad either._

I was surprised with her tine of affection. Before, I would have assumed that the dinner invitation killed any she had off. But I was more than happy that she finally accepted Bella and that she shared my concerns.

Carlisle, calm and collected as always, come over to me and looked me in the eye, trying to reassure me with words and thoughts. _Son, relax. There are so many of us and only one of her..._

"But what could she want with Sophia?" I cried out, frustrated beyond belief.

Though Jasper was controlling my panic levels, he could not remove it entirely. Bella was innocent, I was the one who brought her into this mess, and I'll be dammed some more if I did not protect her.

Alice was rapidly flicking through the future, but it always cut off at the same point. She was frustrated, but persistent. Even though she tried viewing things from different viewpoints, there was no more of the future for us to see.

"She's here," gasped Alice.

A knock on the door coincided with her statement, and in a flash, Carlisle opened the door and led a pretty redheaded vampire into the room.

She exuded an air of confidence that didn't match the jumbled mess of her thoughts. The unnamed nomad glanced my way curiously and her mind became oddly enough, more messed up that before, like a recoiling mass of nerves and thoughts. It was near impossible to grab onto any of her thoughts and the feeling was unnerving.

Staring at our golden eyes in mild curiosity, her own bright red eyes acknowledged the fact that she had just fed. Politely and respectfully, she started off by saying, "Hello. I am Victoria. I was not planning on staying here long; I was just looking for a ... friend of mine. Her name is Sophia. Is she here?" When she finished, her eyes darted to each of us as though she expected one of us to declare ourselves as Sophia.

How did Sophia befriend her? Checking the thoughts of Victoria, all I saw was red. _Not a good sign_, I thought uneasily.

Tactfully, Carlisle enquired, "What exactly do you want with Sophia?"

"Just meeting up with an old friend," she waved off the question dismissively.

"If she was your friend, why do you need us to tell you where she is?" said Alice icily.

Placing her hands roughly on her hips, she snapped angrily, "Do any of you know a 'Sophia'? Damn it, I need to find her!" Her outburst confirmed what we were all thinking to an extent; she was no friend of Sophia. Before we could do much more, a rumbling engine alerted us to the presence of Bella.

"Perfect timing, Bella," grumbled Emmett under his breath.

Victoria's head snapped around, her eyes lit up with excitement and an evil grin spreading on her face. "Is this Isabella you are talking about? Sophia's sister?"

"It's Bella," I corrected automatically, but then I realised what I did. I had just given her what information she needed. Her thoughts cleared for a second and I knew what she was about to do.

Before I could stop her, she bolted out of the front door. We all stood there for a spilt second, frozen in shock, before a loud crash made us instantly follow. Bella was several feet from her motorcycle, slumped on the ground, coughing up blood. The smell assaulted our senses, but it wasn't as alluring as I thought it would be. Even Jasper agreed with me.

Anger welled in me as I saw a dazed Victoria crouching a few feet away, her mouth and jaw dripping with blood. Bella's blood. Her thoughts swarmed with confusion, but I gleaned that the attack was indeed intentional.

Snow was swirling around us and I vaguely knew that something was about to happen and that the snow was a warning. But my mind was blinded with fury, and it was hard to connect the two situations.

As I ran to attack Victoria for even touching Bella, Carlisle called out to me, "She's been bitten! Edward, help her!"

Mid-step, I froze. Now I recognised what was going on. Now I recognised the scene before us. Alice's visions were coming true.

Horrified, I spun around and saw Carlisle supporting Bella, who was still coughing up blood. There was an extremely deep bite mark on her neck, and it looked like the jugular vein was damaged severely.

Running to her side, I took over from supporting her head, and my mind was a blank. Faintly, I noticed that Victoria was grinning, eyeing off against Jasper and Emmett, taunting them in a childlike voice, but all I could worry about was Bella.

Would she die or would she be changed?

Then I started noticing the blood flow slowing down. Her neck wound seemed smaller than before. Before I could call out in surprise, Bella pushed out my grasp, snarling and growling fiercely.

Not only did the sounds coming out of her mouth surprise me, but her sheer strength to push out of my grasp. Bella's eyes weren't like I remembered – soft and with a sparkle of laughter, deep and calm. They were burning with an angered ferocity that I was impressed by.

I took a step towards her, but had her eyes on Victoria. Victoria was looking at Bella like she was a ghost. Which made sense; how the hell did Bella come out walking from an attack like that?

In a deadly calm voice, void of any emotion she said, "Cullen's, all of you step back. Now." When she spoke like that we all obey instinctively, giving Victoria and Bella a circle of space several feet in diameter. I wanted to protect her, and I attempted to grab her arm, but something pushed me back, like an invisible moving wall.

Tilting her neck, cricking it back into place by the sounds of it, Bella glared at Victoria, who's eyes now held a little bit of fear. Belatedly, I noticed that I couldn't hear Victoria's thoughts at all and that if I put my hand out in Bella's direction, I hit a barrier that was see through and impossible to break through.

Hissing, Bella snarled at her, "Why are you here?" It was incredible; Bella looked inhuman at the moment, anger distorting her face and her body's posture was as though she was at war. How could she have any hope against Victoria? A balloon of worry swelled within me as I watched the scene unfold.

Victoria coolly retorted, "I have some unfinished business with your sister."

Bella's face contorted into a deep frown and she growled, "Were you the one that texted me yesterday?"

Nodding, Victoria said in a singsong voice, "I _love_ playing mind games." All throughout the conversation, she was slowing backing away. It seems I wasn't the only one who noticed. Bella, swifter than a speeding bullet, ran up and ripping off one of Victoria's arms and legs. Metallic screeching mixed with Victoria's cries of pain. Unbalanced, she toppled over and landed flat on her back, whimpering with the pain.

My eyes widened at the sight, and my family's thoughts and movements mirrored my own shocked feelings. What in God's name was Bella?

_She was no human, that was for sure_, I thought as she ripped off each finger from the hand she tore off, a sadistic grin on her face.

*******

**BPOV**

Shaking the hair out of my face as I took the helmet off, I breathed deeply, willing myself to calm down. This was it. I was going to tell them. There was no turning back now. They've probably heard the engine and I did tell them I was going to talk to them...

Okay, now I was hyperventilating a bit.

Tugging on my riding jacket zipper, I turned towards the house. Noticing that I had the helmet still tucked under my arm, I turned around once again to put in securely on my bike.

Suddenly, too quickly for me to register a pair of strong arms tugged me backwards and something sharp ripped through my neck. Instinctively, I threw off the offending attacker several yards away.

A new smell evaded my nostrils. Vampires. But not my vampires. A new one. Probably one that didn't get the "vegetarian" diet or something. I knew it wasn't the Volturi. They'd at least talk before they attack.

I wanted to get some facts straight with my attacker, but blood was making its way into my lungs and I had to cough it out. Damn vampires; why do they always aim for the neck? Seriously, it was annoyingly clichéd. I hate having my jugular being ripped open time and time again.

Oddly enough, I was calm throughout all of this. Then again, I was always an oddity. Of course, once I'd stopped coughing and my neck healed enough, I would have to kill the vampire. No way was I letting a blood-drinking nutcase through Forks. I was assuming it was a newborn; older vampires surely had more control than this!

Reality caught up with me as I realised that the Cullen's were milling around me, thinking I was mortally wounded. And when they find out I'm not ... that's going to be awkward. Though I wanted to say I was in actual fact, all right, I couldn't; I was still coughing up blood.

My blood didn't taste that good. The closest thing that I used to describe the taste was rust. It tasted like rust. Smelled good enough, but it was like licking a rusty pole. Not a great experience.

Vaguely, I noticed Edward was holding me, worry etched in his features. My neck had healing enough, and the blood in my lungs was nearly all gone, and I was about to tell Edward that I was okay, I heard it.

No, actually, I heard _her_.

The childlike voice of a monster that constantly haunted my dreams. The lilting, teasing comments that made my blood boil. Her voice was easily recognisable; the sound was forever burned into my brain.

It was Victoria who attacked me.

What the fuck was she – of all people – doing in Forks? And why couldn't she leave me be? Were my parents' deaths not enough for her or something?

But the answers could come later. I wanted to hurt her. No, I wanted to cause her so much agony that death would be a welcome reprieve. She would not run away from me. There was no escape. This was her judgement, and I was the judge, the jury and the executioner.

Monster wasn't a term that fit her. Evil wasn't enough to describe her. She was beyond words, she was beyond the devil and she wasn't worthy of air to breathe.

Anger of the highest degree coursed through my veins. I've never ever been so angry, so furious, so maddened in my life. As I was about to leap onto her and rip her slowly from limb to limb, I noticed – once again – that the Cullen's were standing around.

Also, somehow I was standing too. In my rage, I guess I couldn't remember standing up. My eyes quickly landed on her, the murderer and the traitor, the terror and the nightmare, in the flesh, standing calmly before me.

It made me hate her all that much more. If that was even possible.

She took away three of my loved ones. A fourth, if you count my fraternal twin. The least I could do was kill her slowly and painfully. _Very _slowly and _very_ painfully.

My mind felt disconnected from my body. My mind was sharper than ever, but I felt as though my body was on autopilot. When I barked for the Cullen's to move my, I was slightly surprised at the lifelessness of my voice.

Snow fell around me, but the temperature of Edward's arm grabbing was cooler still. He was trying to warn me about Victoria, trying to get me to safety. If only he knew what I could do. My shield immediately pushed him away, creating a small oval shaped area that no one could get into.

I was angry, but not blinded enough to hurt those I loved.

Wait. Did I just imply that I loved Edward? Hmm, maybe I did...

But I would certainly look into that later. For now, I set my sights on Victoria. Her doom would hopefully provide closure. Or at least quench my suppressed need for revenge.

There was a howling in my ears, and all I could feel was my speeding heartbeat and the blood rushing around my body. Snowflakes made a tiny hissing noise as they came in contact with my increased body temperature. These were all signs that I was pissed. And I didn't care.

"Why are you here?" I snarled at her. It was important to know this; did she tell the Volturi about us again?

Victoria calmly told, "I have some unfinished business with your sister." She seemed fine enough, but I saw the splash of fear that touched her eyes. Her feet were taking her away from me; her instinctive feeling of evasion from danger was kicking in.

However, her comment about Sophia made me wonder about another odd occurrence; was it her appearance and what happened at dinner were linked. "Were you the one that texted me yesterday?" I asked apprehensively.

Nodding her head vigorously, Victoria told in a singsong voice, "I _love_ playing mind games." I felt a light pang in my gut. So it wasn't Annalie, after all.

Victoria thought that she was successfully making her way from me without being noticed, so I had to show her that she was certainly not as sneaky as she had hoped. Ripping her arms and legs gave off a satisfying screeching noise, like that of ripping metal.

While she was howling on the ground, I methodically tore each of her fingers off and ripped apart the wrists and ankles. What I didn't need was crawling limbs everywhere. Carelessly dumping the writhing mass of bone, meat, muscle and sinews onto the ground, I dusted off my hands and stared into Victoria's eyes as she vainly attempted to escape with two limbs.

Chuckling dryly, I tore off the other offending limbs as well. Then I subjected them to the same treatment as the other pair. She was screaming, but they fell on deaf ears. No amount of pain would account to the agony she caused my family, I thought bitterly.

Crouching down, I looked at her and asked in an all too innocent, sweet, childlike voice, "Do you know my name?" I was confused to her motives. Either she was really having some sort of spiff with Sophia and she didn't know I was alive, or she was tracking me and was using Sophia as an excuse. However, she thought it would be best to remain tight-lipped.

Hissing in pain as I pressed my palms into her wounded stumps, I asked her again, this time with the hint of a threat in my voice.

Swallowing dryly, she nodded and whispered, "Isabella Dwyer."

Looking at her in confusion, I said, "That's not my name."

Victoria looked up at me in surprise, and snapped, "Yes it is. The hotel I stole the number from said you were the emergency contact for when you couldn't reach the first number. And it listed you as the sister of Sophia Dwyer."

Now it made sense. Sophia pissed someone off (namely Victoria), she tried to track her, Sophia's phone number didn't work ('cause Sophia absolutely hates them and usually enjoys "accidentally" losing them) and instead used me. I'd bet my motorcycle that she was going to kill me in revenge.

And when abroad, Sophia and Corrin like to play around with names a lot. I know that Dwyer was Corrin's mother's surname. It was understandable that they would use it. And when Sophia filled out the form, she must of subconsciously put Isabella instead of Bella.

Everything was falling into place. Everything except what did Sophia do to piss her off? But details could be explained later.

Tilting my head and crossing my arms, I asked quietly, "Do you know who I am though? Do you remember me?"

Confusion fluttered across her face. She didn't know who I was.

For some reason, this enraged me. She caused me so much grief, so much misery, but she couldn't be bothered to remember me? Logically, I was all grown up and it would be hard for her to recognise me, but my logical side was taking a break at the moment.

Before I could start screaming at her, I heard the piercing panicky noise of my brother's whistle, and not too soon after it, Sophia's whistle joined the noise. I knew that they were close and I blew my whistle to lead them to me. If they were in danger, that was my first priority. They were above Victoria and above the Cullen's. They were my family.

There was a crashing through the undergrowth and I was momentarily distracted from my task as I felt my shield tug strongly to the east and then I saw Sophia, Corrin and a third unnamed member of the party coming through. They were fighting, but Corrin and Sophia were sporadically holding on to the upper hand. This vampire was good at fighting.

Hurriedly, I joined them and told Corrin and Sophia to leave him to me. We paced a circle before he leapt at me. It was a bad first move for him. Quickly, I slipped a leg between his and tripped him backwards. He vainly attempted to pull me down with him, but all he ended up doing was making me knee him in the stomach.

Taking advantage of his strength and size, he pushed me off him, flinging me back several feet. With my detached brain, I heard my family and the Cullen's cry out with worry and surprise. But my shield kept the vampires at bay, while my brother and sister knew it would be best to stay out of this.

Getting to me feet in a flash, I spun around and did a textbook roundhouse kick, effectively breaking his jaw, which in turn caused him to stagger back. Then I ran forward quickly, dodging his blows, I elbowed him several times in the back, aiming for pressure points. Though this would be more effective on a human, it worked nonetheless.

The vampire had put up a good fight, but I made him sink wearily to him knees. Snapping off his hands and feet before he could unparalyse, it left him pretty much defenceless. Sophia dragged the man next to Victoria.

Corrin raised an eyebrow at my captive and I answered his silent question. "It's Victoria." Corrin eyed the body with recognition and hate. "The bitch bit me," I showed my healing wound before continuing. "Also, she wanted to talk to you Sophia," I turned to her as I continued talking. "She mentioned there being some unfinished business between the two of you." My voice was still detached and sounded dead; anger still flowed like venom through my system. But decades of meditation made me able to squish it down, for now, anyway.

Sophia was confused, but the male vampire yelled out, his voice sounded muffled with a broken jaw, "You killed Laurent! How can we not take revenge?" With that comment, I laughed in disbelief.

Turning my attention back to the pair, I said sardonically, "Are you two together on this murderous mission of revenge?"

"Laurent was like a brother to me," hissed Victoria. "And Sophia there, killed him."

Looking at Sophia, waiting for her to deny it, I was met with silence. And then, I witnessed one of the tiniest nods of the head ever seen.

My eyes bugged out of their sockets with this little titbit of information. Sophia killed someone? Turning around, I noticed Corrin had the same dumbfounded expression that I wore. Apparently she decided not to tell the pair of us.

No matter, there were more pressing matters to get along to. I couldn't let anything distract me.

When I faced Victoria and the male, I noticed they were staring into one another's eyes as though they were lovers. Perfect.

Crouching down near the male with the dirty blond hair, I demanded of Victoria, "Tell me my dad's name, or your boyfriend her loses an arm."

"Don't hurt James! How the hell am I meant to know who your dad is?" screeched Victoria in panic.

"Ooh, strike one, Victoria," I hissed at her. Ripping James' right arm off, I held the quivering limb her face and spat, "One good thing from you being a fucked up murderer and traitor is this." And with that comment I set the arm alight with flames with a twitch of my wrist. Both James and Victoria yelped in fear, shock and surprise. Now they looked at me with respect.

Rolling my eyes, I let the wind take the ashes away. "What the fuck are you?" cried out James, eyeing my hands with a new fear.

Scoffing, I looked at him and said, "Oh, me ripping off your limbs – totally normal. When I set your hand on fire, that's when I'm suddenly a freak."

Turning to Victoria, I hissed, "Round two."

Her read hair was splayed out behind her, like some greasy seaweed and the snow falling down on it made it look as though she had serious dandruff problems, and when she stared into my cold eyes, panic once more, made an appearance.

"Give me a clue, please! Stop hurting James! Let him go!" she begged desperately.

I laughed, but the sound came out strangled and slightly hysterical sounding. "A clue? My father was as close to you as brother and sister! For fifty years you walked the earth together and you can't even bother to remember his _daughter_? And as for letting your boyfriend go..." I trailed off, giving her eyes a sparkle of hope before cutting it off. "I doubt that. He tried to kill my family; and that's something that I don't take lightly. You should know that fully well, Victoria."

"How do you know my name?" spluttered Victoria weakly, confused and hopeless.

"Tsk, tsk. Strike two. You think you would learn," I shrugged before ripping both of James' legs off, causing a loud outburst of cursing and incomprehensible yelling. Ignoring the cries of pain from the both of them, I set the limbs on fire and looked back at Victoria blandly.

She was sobbing, in obvious grief. I thought that revenge would be better than this, but all I felt was sick. I was going to end this quickly, but only after she realised what she did to my family and me.

"Last clue," I told Victoria as stared deep into her blood red eyes. "You watched my mother, my father, my brother, my sister, my auntie and I burn while you watched on with smiles. You are the one who betrayed us to the Volturi. Now... Who is my father?"

Gulping, her face dawned in recognition and she murmured, "Charlie Swan."

Nodding stiffly, I said loudly, "That's right. Next time, don't take so long to remember it. Oh wait, there isn't going to be a next time." And with that, I set her mate on fire and within seconds he burned away into nothingness as the ashes were blown away in the winds. All that was left was the smell of burning vampire and spirals of purple-black smoke, both of which were soon taken away with the winds and the snow.

Victoria's eyes widened and she screeched, "I answered your question! You didn't need to –"

"– kill him?" I finished for her. "I think I needed to. You needed to experience what I did a century and a half ago," I told her bitterly. "Just thank your fucked up deity that Annalie didn't get you. You were living on borrowed time, and she would have made you feel every moment like you were burning. Death would've been a blessing if you faced off with her."

Screaming at me, she attempted to move, but was unable to. If she could cry, I bet she would be doing do right now. Her yells were laced with agony and hate. She wanted nothing more than to follow him, but she wanted to live so she could kill me. The pain was so obvious to see. I looked on with uncaring eyes, blind to my surroundings. It was just Victoria and I.

Standing above her, I smiled wanly at her and said in a hollow voice, "Now you know what it feels like to watch your loved ones burn away before your eyes. Now you know what you did to me. Now you get to experience those very flames first hand."

Before she could do or say anything else, I rotated my wrists and sent fire to both her body and discarded limbs.

My body seemed to shut down as I watched the ashes swirl away, black mixing with the pure white of the snowstorm, which was rapidly looking like it was going to become a snowstorm.

Vaguely, I realised that I haven't slept in days, and that the adrenaline that I was using was slowly disappearing from my bloodstream. Without warning, my knees buckled and my eyelids drooped closed.

I was just too tired to care anymore.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, I had destroyed all hope off gently easing the Cullen's into my real identity. Second, I needed to hunt soon; fighting always drains me. And third, I was about to pass out, regardless of anything that was about to happen.

Why does crap like this always happen to me?

*******

**A/N: First off, who the hell guessed it was Victoria? I sent quite a curveball there, didn't I? *Grins*.**

**Sophia killing Laurent? WTF? You may ask. Well, it will explained very soon.**

**The fight between Bella, James and Victoria, was it too much, do you think? My first draft was so gruesome that I thought I might have to change the rating. So I toned it down to this. Was she too sadistic or something? I would really like to know. So, feedback on that will be totally appreciated. :-)**

**Cookies for reading. I love cookies. Maybe I'll go get some...**


	13. Revealing All

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: This is the legendary chapter of truth you all have been waiting for! Hopefully, I answered some of your many questions in this chapter...**

**About the last chapter, I'm surprised that the majority of people thought that Bella could've done much worse to Victoria. I now regret deleting that edition of the showdown between them. Oh wells.**

**Disclaimer: *Points to self*. Me? You think I own Twilight? *Starts laughing my head off*. Oh you poor deluded soul. Here $10. Catch a cab to the hospital; you're obviously nutters. **

*******

**EPOV**

My world was spun upside down as I watched Bella fight two vampires, methodically tearing them to bits. When she set them on fire with her bare hands, I lost all coherent thoughts – something that was quite a feat for a vampire. I was unsure if this was Bella or not; she seemed so different.

She looked different – more powerful, more terrifying, more deadly.

She sounded different; her voice, once filled with kindness with a soft undertone, was now dead and held an undercurrent of anger.

She smelled different; it took a while, but the winds blew her ashen scent to me and I realized that it was the scent of the vampire we had been tracking for so long... Which of course, made no sense whatsoever.

She was definitely acting different; _my _Bella never would've harmed a fly, let alone another sentient being.

Then again, this girl was still _my_ Bella. I was unsure of the details, hard to discern over the piercing winds and snow, the shocking scene in front of us also making it hard to concentrate on the noise, but I knew that Victoria and her mate, James, had done something atrocious to anger Bella.

Her family was equally strong and different. They had crashed through the wilderness fighting James and the sight changed all our perceptions of the once docile looking family.

Bella ripped Victoria apart, slowly and methodically. After a second of pause, she burned everything in her hand. The sight of flames instinctively caused us all to cringe, and the first time I saw it, I cried out her name in shock. But I was sure that she did not hear us at all, as she did not seem to respond to us in any way.

The thoughts running through the minds of my family were so messed up; it was nearly impossible to discern anything.

_...Holy mother of God! What just happened?..._

_...Oh Bella, what has taken over her? My visions said nothing of this! Why?..._

_...Alice, Alice, must protect Alice. Nothing is more vital than that..._

_...Sweet Lord, flames from her hands? I have no idea whether to be amazed or scared..._

_...I am totally lost, but this is Bella, she wouldn't hurt us, would she?..._

_...There must be reason. There must be an explanation!..._

Fear, worry, shock, horror, amazement and a wide array of other emotions were all rolled up into one inconvenient bundle in my mind. As I watched alongside my family, the remains of Victoria floating away, I saw Bella suddenly stagger, once again looking like a tired human. Now she seemed normal, but I knew things were different. That was for certain.

Corrin ran to catch Bella as she collapsed. In another time, I probably would've been the one supporting her weight and I would've been the one to carry her into the living room, somewhere safe from the raging snowstorm outside. But all I felt at the moment was shock.

_What the hell just happened?_

It was obvious that Bella wasn't human, and neither was her family. That little showdown confirmed all our suspicions.

I didn't even bother trying to sort out through the muddles of thoughts; my family were as confused as I.

All I knew was that I still cared for Bella immensely, that I worried for her health right now... and I knew that I was afraid of her. After all, who wouldn't be wary of someone who could burst spontaneously into flames?

Jasper was standing protectively in front of Alice's frame, not letting her anywhere near Bella, even though Alice was intent on making sure that her friend was safe. In fact, I was itching to get closer and do a medical examination of all her vitals. And that's when I realized the truth; I didn't care what Bella was. I knew I loved her, and that was all that mattered.

But I could not deny that seeing her hands alight in fire gave me a bit of a scare. To think, all this time, she was the one who was more dangerous to the other. I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or not at that.

Corrin quickly carried Bella through the wrecked splinters that was once our front door and gently placed her on the couch. Sophia had mysteriously disappeared, but as I noted that, she re-entered the room with some towels and some steaming hot water. She calmly waited for Corrin to finish his soft examination of Bella; carefully lifting her eyelids to check out her non-responsive eyes and the gentle prodding of the bite Victoria lay on her. It was a shocking line of puckered pink; the scar itself was not too extraordinary ... if it lay on a human who had had it for several years. But I had witnessed Bella receive the mark not fifteen minutes earlier.

More questions were being raised than answers. However, we stayed quiet, torn a bit between deep concern for Bella, minor fear and infuriating curiosity. Sophia finally got past Corrin – who was still hovering protectively – to Bella and she began to wipe away the dirt, the blood and other errant marks she had received.

"Excuse me, but I think you owe us an explanation of what just happened," Carlisle's calm voice made me jump; I was so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't realized that he was about to make an attempt to speak.

Corrin stayed quiet, but when he sat down tiredly on the couch, he quietly groaned, "We weren't meant to tell you like this."

"How did you plan to tell us what?" inquired Carlisle gently, obviously deciding that today had had enough conflict and did not want to start any more.

Rubbing his hands together, his eyes locked on his wife and his sister, he sighed and said, "We were going to tell you all today – that was why Bella wanted to talk – but then Victoria turned up, and it just..." He trailed off, seeming to be at a loss for words. "Anyway, I didn't expect her to reign her anger in. If I didn't know that she needed this fight, I would've joined in. But God knows that she's had to get Victoria out of her system..." At this point he was mumbling and we were all unaware whether he knew we could hear or not.

After all, they had successfully fought off and killed a pair of vampires – it wouldn't be so impossible to think that they knew of us being vampires. But what was of importance was where did this leave us?

Emmett, always seeming to be the one with the least amount of tact, blurted out, "So, what are you? Are you aliens?"

We all gasped in shock and disapproval, but Corrin and Sophia shared an amused chuckle. "Aliens? Interesting theory, but no," said Sophia with a light smile. Emmett's comment was a tad rude, but at least he dissolved some of the gathering tension in the room.

Rubbing his face, Corrin murmured, "As for your other question… I guess its time you know. But Bella wanted to tell you. However, she'll be out of it for at least five hours. She hasn't slept in days."

Sophia and Corrin shared a significant glance, as though they were silently communicating, but I heard only silence from them. Clearing her throat, Sophia turned to us and asked in an authoritative tone, "Do any of you seek power?"

We all shook our heads; none of us were of want of power. The question left us oddly confused, but then Sophia asked another question, "Do any of you wish to harm humans?"

At this declaration, we all began to protest, arguing that harming a human was something that none of us wished for in the least. Carlisle wanted to blurt out that we drank from animals, but he was unsure of how they knew and how much he wanted them to know. Seemingly pleased by our outburst, Sophia asked of us, "Would any of you kill to have children?" This seemed to be the most important question, judging by her tone and he expression. Her dark eyes scanned us carefully, each in turn, waiting for an individual response.

Nearly everyone shook their heads nearly straightaway when it was their turn. However, Rosalie stayed still, her mind whizzing with thoughts and contemplations. Her dearest wish was to have children, but to kill for some? Eventually, Rosalie shook her head as well; she had concluded that bringing up a child from murder was no way to raise a baby.

Sighing, Sophia answered our unspoken question; "Those questions were to ensure you would not use what we tell you for your own good. If our information gets into the wrong hands, a war, a worldwide disaster could strike, and we would be responsible for that."

Corrin nodded in agreement and when she paused, he took over. "We are rare. And for that alone we would be coveted if our existence were brought to light. We are a species that can be counted in numbers using only one hand and have a finger remaining. But most of all, we are an abomination of nature. That is not to say we hate life, nor do we take it for granted. However, we have all accepted long ago that our existence is unnatural. Not only do our rarity cause us to be special, but also it is our gifts that make us extraordinary. Edward, you cannot read Bella's mind can you?"

The shocking statement – shocking not because it was true, but because Corrin said it – caused us all to gasp, but he did not pause long for an answer.

"I would think not. Nor can you read my mind or the mind of Sophia, am I right?" added Corrin casually.

I nodded mutely, frozen in shock and amazement. He continued on to Jasper, "So Jasper, the empathic one of the family. I know that we are like ghosts to you. Though you can see us, smell us, hear us, touch us, you cannot feel us using your gift." His cool statements were causing immense discomfort from Jasper and he immediately felt the need to protect himself and his mate once more.

Sophia told us in a soothing tone, "Do not fret. We mean you no harm."

"That's what all aliens say before they kill everyone," joked Emmett lightly, even though I could hear his thoughts a buzz with confusion and worry.

Corrin laughed before turning to Alice. "You are the most difficult to discern, are you not? A seer of the future. What a heavy load to bear on such tiny shoulders. Doesn't the weight of the future and the could-be's and should-be's tire you?" She gasped quietly in surprise, her golden eyes wide open and her thoughts fluttering from thought to thought. "However, I am curious; what I am not sure of is whether you can see us or not. I am assuming no, but I have a strong feeling it has nothing to do with Bella's extraordinary power."

_Bella has a power that can 'block' Jasper, me and possibly even Alice?_ It was the only though running through my mind for a whole split second. And for a whole second of a vampire's entire mind to be concentrate on a single thought was definitely a rare feat; our minds could hold dozens of individual thoughts at any given time with ease.

Alice choked out truthfully, "I cannot see you at all. All I can see is blurs and messes of futures."

Nodding his head thoughtfully, he murmured, "I expected as such. If it were Bella who was blocking you, then you would've been able to see Sophia or me at one time or another. Maybe it has to do that we are neither human nor are we vampire."

"Then what are you?" inquired Carlisle, politely, his voice tainted with a burning curiosity. He was much calmer than Emmett, who was starting to bounce his foot up and down in impatience and frustration.

Nothing in the world could've prepared me for what he had said next.

Corrin paused and the air thickened in anticipation and tension. "We are a mix of both worlds. We are neither dead, nor are we truly alive. We are the light and the dark. In other words, we are hybrids, a combination of human and vampire genes."

*******

**APOV**

Silence. Dead silence at that. No pun intended.

"How is that possible?" asked Carlisle, his face neutral, his demeanor calm.

And then Corrin began to explain. He told us of his history and the history of his family. How his father fell for a human and how they practiced with his own mother to create him. Corrin and Sophia briefly explained to the best of their ability, their biology and their little quirks. For a few minutes, we had interrupted him because of the startling revelation.

Rosalie gasped, "Vampires can reproduce?" Her face was unsure, yet hopeful. It was unnerving.

"Vampire _males_ can reproduce," corrected Sophia. "But it is not some easy feat. To impregnate a fragile being like a human with such supernatural children means near death for the mother."

"So you were created with artificial insemination?" asked Carlisle, his curiosity piqued high from the news.

Nodding, Corrin elaborated, "Yes. My mother, Sandra, was a good friend with Renee; who was Bella's mother. She was the only human on the outside that knew of Charlie's ... affliction, for lack of a better term. Sandra's abusive spouse nearly killed her and Renee saved her in the nick of time. For that, my mother had always felt indebted. Not only was she physically abused, but also the emotional scarring made her weak. Renee, my aunt, helped her overcome all obstacles."

For a moment there was silence, in which Corrin was undoubtedly remembering his mother. "Renee wanted children and that was her main reason to wait to be changed. However, she wanted Charlie alone to be father. As he would never risk the mate of his existence, my mother saw her chance to repay a part of her debt and offered her body up to the cause. Artificial insemination was not around in those days, and I would hazard a guess and say that Charlie invented the first prototype of it."

"Why didn't your parents do it the traditional way?" Emmett's question could have come across as rude or insensitive, but his tone was sincerely polite and curious.

"Main reason was that Charlie did not love her. It was hard enough for him to be intimate with his mate and it was love that prevented him from crossing lines and boundaries. To attempt such intimacy with another ... well, that would nearly guarantee her death."

Carlisle nodded, and said, "I think we can assume everything went well?"

Corrin chuckled, "Yeah, but it depends on what how you define "everything" and "well". Hybrids do not come out in the conventional human way – we burst through the uterus and through the stomach." At that, everyone in my family visibly flinched.

"Oww," muttered Emmett quietly, his face contorted as he tried to imagine the scene.

"My dad used his teeth to cut open the stone hard lining and pull me free. Blood poured everywhere," Corrin seemed to be enjoying the retelling of his gruesome birth. "Then he changed my mom. For a while, we were all scared, because her spine had snapped and there was a lot of blood loss, but after three days she pulled through." His face was stoic and more serious at the end of his description.

"Wait," interrupted Esme, "I can't help but point out that you said you were worried about your mother. Exactly how much awareness did you possess?"

"Hmm. I was able to walk and talk when I was a few weeks old. But at birth, I had the mental capacity of a ... human six year old, approximately. We were all pretty much the same with mental progression. Physical progression varied a little more, but in the end we all matured at around seven years old." I didn't know how the rest of my family took the news, but my eyes were as big as saucers.

"Are you able to conceive children?" asked Jasper, who was standing beside me, torn between his urge to protect me, and his knowledge that Bella was safe to be around.

Sophia shrugged. "We're similar to mules if you think about it, and since 1527 there have been more than 60 documented cases of foals born to female mules around the world. However, if you consider the number of mules, the percentage is, in fact, rather low. All we are are basically cross breeds. So, I am fairly sure we are all infertile. Not that we've done extensive testing on this or anything. Maybe it's because we don't age or something. I think that our ovaries have frozen. However, if we look at the chromosome count of both humans and vampires, I don't think we were ever meant to mix in the first place, so I think we are just happy enough to be here. Corrin and I go at it all the time without protection and I've never gotten knocked up. Bella, well... she's still pure –"

"– and that better not change anytime soon," growled Corrin, who aimed his comment towards Edward, who looked somehow paler at his comment.

Before he could say anything back however, Sophia continued as though Corrin never spoke. "– and we haven't a clue about her, especially since Bella's circumstances are a little different."

"Different how?" I asked.

"She's got a twin sister." We learned that Bella had a fraternal twin, but he barely touched the subject before moving on. Apparently Bella and Annalie were identical, except Annalie had dirty blonde hair.

The main thing of interest Corrin said about Bella having a fraternal twin was, "Don't you notice Bella is a little more human than us? You know, she acts better among them and can stand human blood more than any of us? It's because Annalie, her sister, has more vampire characteristics than her. It was as though they were split 40/60, the more human side going to Bella. Not that that's made her any less strong or anything." After he brought up a bit on Annalie, he filled us in on the horrific actions that led to Bella and himself getting orphaned.

Sadly, slowly, tiredly, he told us of Victoria's betrayal to the Volturi and how they alone survived the torment. He briefly told us about how Bella's power and the power of her sister evolved.

"Bella, Annalie and me have powers," explained Corrin patiently. "I can see abilities of vampires –"

"We know someone else who can do that too!" I interrupted eagerly. "Have you heard of him? His name is Eleazar and he lives with a vegetarian coven up north in Alaska."

Eyes widening, Corrin's head snapped towards me and he told me in a breathless voice, "Eleazar was friends with my father. Charlie held him in such high regard. But I've never met him. The whole Victoria fiasco made my father hide us from the world."

Pausing, he seemed to speak slowly, his eyes burning with a suppressed excitement. "Could you contact him? I would love to meet someone who knew my father before my aunt." Carlisle quickly agreed and a huge grin lit up Corrin's features.

Vibrating a little on the spot with happiness, a slight cough from Sophia reminded him where he was and he sobered up immediately. "So, where was I? Umm, Bella and Annalie were born with shields – both physical and mental blockers. However it was the Volturi flames that gave them the skill of fire bending."

Quietly, we listened to how Annalie, Bella's sister, had suddenly blamed Bella for everything. The hardships Bella faced were heartbreaking. Corrin briefly skimmed over the decades that followed.

Behind him, rubbing his shoulders was Sophia. Our eyes darted to her for a brief moment when she was brought up and their first meeting told to us.

"Such pain to go through at such a young age," murmured Esme sympathetically.

"If you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?" Edward asked.

Corrin snorted and said, "About a century and a half. We've gotten bored of counting. Don't ask Sophia about her age though. She's a little touchy about being the baby of the family."

Crossing her arms, Sophia grumbled, "I'm not the baby. A century of life is perfectly respectable."

Jasper asked, "What's up with her scarring patterns? They don't look like human or vampire bite marks on closer inspection. I should know." He then gestured to his own battle scars.

"When did you notice?" asked Sophia interestedly.

"At the sleepover, but then they looked distorted then... for a few hours, it looked as though she cut herself," admitted Jasper.

"She was wearing some foundation to hide them," explained Corrin.

"Is this why you were blocking my thoughts at the sleepover?" asked Edward.

"Yes," replied Jasper. "If I was wrong, I didn't want to cause any unneeded panic. And lucky I did, because later in the night, I saw that they were definitely not self-afflicted. But I didn't know how to describe them."

Sophia nodded and said, "They don't resemble vampire marks or human marks because we are a mix of the two. If you check out our teeth, you can see our canines are longer, better developed and that our incisors are thinner. That's why the bite shapes are different. Also, there's the fact that –"

"– we don't get scarred from vampire venom." Corrin completed her sentence and continued, "Can't you see? Victoria's mark is already fading fast."

"How many of the bites are from Annalie?" asked Rosalie, her eyes tracing the marks that were exposed now that the long sleeves of her motorcycle jacket were burned away. I could see how we missed them earlier; they were only a little paler than the rest of her skin and they weren't raised that much higher than her normal skin. Normal scars welted up a bit, but then again, Bella wasn't anywhere near normal.

"All of the bites are from Annalie," said Corrin darkly. "And we have terrible reactions to one another's venom; we get sick and weak from them." All we could do was freeze in shock as the implications of this sunk in._ Her sister did all this?_

A creaking from the couch made us freeze, and faster than we could react, Bella sat up, her hand clasped over her mouth. Her brown eyes were dull and unfocused. Before we could get our wits together, she began running and soon enough started throwing up in one of our many unnecessary bathroom toilets. Corrin ran after her and the predominant thought in my mind was, _Can there be any more drama today?_

*******

**BPOV**

Darkness.

Murky swirls of colour.

Flashes of light.

And it was darkness again.

Confusion.

Befuddlement.

Where am I?

What am I doing?

Feeling nothing.

Empty.

Then a churning in my gut, a burning in my stomach, that was increasingly uncomfortable. But I ignored it.

Noises.

Slurred noises that made no sense.

Sounds hurting my ears.

Smelling the scent of my diluted blood, I was vaguely aware that I must have been injured. There was also the aroma of vampires and my family. It was hard to think and figure out what the rest of my senses were finding.

So tired...

*******

I awoke with a start and before I could take in my surroundings, I immediately felt my stomach heave, and to stop that, I quickly clasped a hand over my mouth. Voices and noises of surprise filled the air, but I paid them no mind.

Using my naturally abnormal speed, I found a toilet and began to spew my guts out. However, it was not food, but my own blood that came out. A thick, dark red liquid began to pour out without my consent. While I was throwing up blood, I noticed that someone was holding my hair back, but I was too out of my own control to really care.

Tasting a little of my own blood was not great – seeing as it was a self-preservation thing nature gave us to prevent vampire-human hybrids from eating ourselves – but when I had to cough or vomit up copious amounts of it, the bitter-sweet, metallic taste rushing over my tastebuds was like an overwhelming kind of torture.

Yet the most unsettling thing was that I was vomiting blood in the first place. Add that with my pounding headache, it meant that I had fought and had received a throat wound. My vomiting was letting up, and it let me to remember more.

The last thing I could remember was the text message – wait. Did that mean I found Annalie? My hand flew up to my neck and I felt no new bump that indicated the bite of Annalie. So... who was it?

It had to have been a vampire, and the only vampires I knew that were near me were the Cullen's. But they wouldn't attack me would they? No, they wouldn't. Slowly, more memories were coming back. Tiredly, I sat back on the cold tiles of the bathroom I was in, and tried to sift through the murky memories, my head in my hands in an effort to concentrate.

When my hair fell around me like a curtain of protection, I felt myself relax a fraction, enough for me to regain a hold on things. Now the last thing I could remember was driving over to the Cullen's house; I was about to tell them what I was!

"How's the hangover?" muttered Corrin, who I had just noticed was standing before me. I looked at him with a start, but when his words finally made its way into my brain, I smiled weakly at his little nickname for the feelings and problems that occurred after a big fight. He had started joking years back that my pounding headaches and vomiting were all symptoms of a big night out for a human. Quickly the nickname of calling this period of time a "hangover" stuck.

Rubbing my forehead, I noticed my hands were stained with the faint droplets of my own blood. Looking up at Corrin, who was crinkling his nose a bit at the smell of my blood in the toilet, I answered, "I'm fine."

Not entirely placated by my answer, Corrin insisted, "You need to hunt soon. That fight really drained you."

"Yeah, yeah," I replied dismissively, still concentrating on not heaving up more blood.

"Come on Bella! Judging by the amount of blood you lost, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that you are as thirsty for blood as a swarm of Lachrymose Leeches!" Corrin ranted.

Raising an eyebrow, I teased, "You referencing _Lemony Snickets_? Wow, things_ must _be bad."

A smile tugging on his lips, he shot back defensively, "Hey, I can reference whatever I like. And you are the one acting way too calm about everything."

"But just so you know, I don't really remember anything about the fight."

His eyes opened in shock and he whispered, "Nothing at all?"

Furrowing my eyebrows in thought, I said slowly, trying to describe the feeling, "Well, I am getting flashes of memories, bit by bit, so I am confident I will remember everything soon enough. All I need to know is how much time I've been blacked out and who bit me."

With cautious eyes, he bit his lip and told me, "It would be better to find out on your own. And you've been out of it for several hours."

Staring blankly at him, I pouted slightly, but I could see he was being serious. My stomach fell as I whispered, "Oh no. It wasn't a Cullen was it?" My heart rate had begun to accelerate, before Corrin hurriedly assured me, "No, it wasn't any of them. They are all fine. And they know now."

"What, you told them without me?" I cried out in disbelief, slightly put off with this new piece of knowledge. I had wanted to tell them myself. Giving away our secret was such a personal and deeply intimate matter that would demonstrate my level of affection for them all.

"Well yeah. You went all fire-bending crazy in front of them and then passed out. Did you expect me to leave them hanging on that cliff-hanger for hours while we waited for you to wake?" defended Corrin indignantly.

Shrugging, I replied, "Sorry, I guess that makes sense. But who exactly did I–?" I froze, mid-sentence as my memories began to crash back onto me in startling detail.

Victoria.

I tortured and killed Victoria and another male vampire called James.

James was her mate.

And he was fighting Corrin and Sophia when I got him off of them.

With my inhuman strength and my supernatural control over fire, I tortured them and destroyed them utterly – both emotionally and physically.

What have I done?

_God, what I have I done?_

In all my years of life, I had prided myself on being caring to all living things, killing only when absolutely necessary and with the least amount of pain possible. My nature was to be kind.

When I feasted on the blood of animals, I snapped their necks so they felt no pain whatsoever. When I killed vampires to protect my family and me, I did it in such a way that they felt no pain. Hell, I even bought free-range eggs and chickens to cook with because I detested the idea of needless animal cruelty.

I gave away freely, my time and money to numerous charities and community efforts. In some of my years at university, I had studied medicine to relieve pain. Never had I tortured someone.

With every fighting style I knew, I never used the attacks that could bring incredibly painful injuries to people. Though I learned killing methods, I used only the quickest ones, and only when there was no other resort.

My self-defence was just that. Self-defence. I gave attacks of warning, but not of serious harm. Broken arms, broken bones were probably the worst I gave to any human, and only when they provoked me.

It was a life style I had prided myself on. Meditating for hours to control my temper in the case that something enraged me to the point I had no control over my fire or myself. I thought I had it all under control.

And I threw all that out of the window with Victoria.

Actually, I was no better than her. She tortured and killed my loved ones. Over my years of brooding, I had always assumed that if we came to blows, I would end it all quickly. But alas, I did not.

I was as bad as her.

In fact, I was worse than the monster.

Evidence showed that I could've prevented this, but I did not. My soul was not evil. There was definitely enough strength within me that I could've ended everything so much quicker.

But I didn't.

And looking bad, I realised that I didn't want to. My memory recalled perfectly, the sick feeling of accomplishment I felt in her agony and demise. Also, I had relished in her mate's death. His pain was unnecessary; I drew it all out for what? This James character had done me no harm. Actually, he was trying to avenge the death of his friend, Laurent. I didn't know if Sophia killed him or not, but I would look into that later. But I knew that James had somewhat noble intentions.

Victoria did not. She fought me with my back turned and without a yell of surprise. But I had done the same. Maybe everything I did was so much worse.

In the end, I proved as to be as much as a monster as the legends of superstitious humans says.

Revenge was a double-edged sword. With her death, I could rest in the knowledge that my family were finally avenged. But with her death, I had lost one of my most important morals. It showed me that I was not as peaceful as I had once thought.

Suddenly, I was aware of the heaving gasps that were vainly trying to suck air into my lungs and the sparks of fire that were running like currents up and down my arms. The damp feeling on my cheeks and the front of my shirt alerted me to the fact that I was crying my eyes out. Then I heard the panicked voices of my family, and strangely enough, the Cullen's.

Trying vainly to gain control over myself, I attempted to put my fires out. But that was the extent of what I could do. The tears and the sobs did not stop and I belatedly realised that I was muttering aloud words of my inferiority and lack of control.

It was like vomiting all over again, but with words. Word vomit. Yet I could not help myself and I kept crying.

Two cold arms hugged my frame, and the familiar scent of Edward calmed me down immensely. Mainly because his presence reassured me somewhat that even though he knew what I was, he still wanted me. Or maybe he just wanted me to shut up. Either way, I quietened down enough to hear him crooning words of comfort to me, and when I stilled entirely, he began to hum a song and he was lightly stroking my hair.

When I looked at him, noticing in my the corner of my eye that we were alone, he said in a very serious voice, "Bella, Corrin and Sophia told us everything about your past. What you did to Victoria is nothing to beat yourself up about. It seems she asked for it. Personally, I cannot imagine having to deal with the loss of a family member like Alice or Esme, especially from the hands of a friend, and I admire that you didn't let yourself fall to pieces. Bella, you are wonderful, kind, sweet and compassionate. Don't think any different."

Edward's words were simple and heartfelt, and they really helped. Sitting up, I wiped away my tears and said, "You're right." Taking a deep breath, I attempted a shaky smile. Using a Buddhist method of meditation, I slowly cleared my thoughts, and breathed slowly. When I was calm again, I allowed my eyes to open.

For the first time since I woke, I looked down at my clothes and groaned loudly. Edward looked at me hurriedly, thinking I was in pain. "Damn it," I grumbled. "I ruined my motorcycle jacket!" And it was indeed ruined. The clothes beneath it were fireproof and therefore undamaged, but the leather jacket was badly burned on the sleeves and had been sporadically singed everywhere else.

I had really liked my jacket.

Sighing, Edward rolled his eyes at the cause of my concern and I heard Corrin laughing too. Sophia's laugh soon joined the fray and it reminded me of something important.

Quietly, I asked, "May everybody come here please? Cullen's, I'm talking to you too." Nearly immediately, I was surrounded by a bulk of bodies and I hastened to stand up.

Shuffling my feet, eyes wary and nervous, I asked slowly, "So, you know everything now?"

"Yep," answered Emmett, who popped the 'p'.

"And you don't care?" I questioned.

"Nah, we're all on even footing now!" replied Emmett again, except in a more enthused tone of voice. "Apart from the whole fire powers thing, it seems like we'll get along just fine!"The rest of the Cullen's nodded along in agreement, looking at me like I was fragile and needed reassurance.

"Really? None of you mind it all that much?"

Sophia laughed, which caused me to suddenly see her behind the bulk of Cullen's. Her arms wrapped around my brother, she told me happily, "Emmett wants to see exactly what you can do with a fight. That's how comfortable he is around you already."

"Nah," I declined immediately. "I could hurt you."

I got the exact reaction I was looking for when Emmett's eyes widened in shock and then hurt. Then he straightened himself up and stared me in the eye and said, "Bella, you've got some mad skills, but I can totally take you on. You don't need to worry about me in the slightest. Unless... are you chicken?"

His last comment caused me to bristle in fury and I snapped, "Anytime, anywhere."

With a wide, dimpled grin, Emmett replied, "In a few hours. You've still got to rest a bit." Nodding my head to indicate that I understood, I walked out of the bathroom and led them all into the living room; where I promptly collapsed out of exhaustion onto the couch.

All I wanted to do was sleep some more, but then something very important was brought to the forefront of my brain. Sophia and Laurent; what was up with that?

Sitting up so fast that I was no more that a blur, (causing a few of the Cullen's to flinch a little at my unnatural movements), I caught Sophia's eye and nodded briskly. The dulling of the spark in her eyes indicated to me that she understood.

Wearily, I stood up, turned to Edward and the rest of his family, and told them, "We," I pointed to my siblings, and myself, "need to talk in private. So we'll be going into the forest for a bit." It was time that Corrin and I learned what exactly was going on with Sophia.

"Are you running away?" asked Edward hesitantly.

His nervousness made me smile, but it was not in a condescending way. "No, Edward. It's just that this matter is a personal family issue. Even though I consider you all practically family, I hope you can understand what I mean." They nodded and then I continued, "If you are really worried, then I'll leave you some collateral."

Taking my hands to the back of my neck, I unclasped the metal chain necklace holding my reed whistle, ignoring the quiet gasps of my brother and sister in law. Carefully, I placed the necklace in Edward's hand, and gently closed his fingers around it.

"This is one of the few remaining things that I have to remember my parents by," I said in a low whisper. "If you hurt it in any way, I will be forced to destroy your baby grand piano and your entire CD collection." Edward looked at me with awe-struck eyes, realizing that, past the threats, that this was a serious show of trust on my part. "So, I will be back for this, at the very least." I winked at that last comment.

Though my neck felt a little naked, already missing the contact that the necklace gave me, I felt it was worth it to show Edward how much I trusted him and cared for him. Actually, now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember the last time I had removed the necklace. I think it was about a decade ago…

Smiling a little, I stepped up on the tips of my toes and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek before stepping away. Corrin grabbed my arm gently and we ran into the forest, and I could hear Sophia trailing behind us.

When we were a sufficient distance from the house, we paused and spun around to meet Sophia. Corrin broke the silence first, "Why did you kill the vampire? More importantly, why didn't you tell us? You never do anything without reason."

Sophia squirmed in front of us, wondering how to tell us why she killed Laurent. Corrin was beside me, nervous at her answer. This was the first time that she's hidden something of this nature from him.

Sighing, her face took on a resigned look and she quickly said, "Laurent was my father."

_Sophia say what? _Whatever we were expecting, that was not it. Our jaws hung open and our eyes were wide in a comical display of disbelief.

Taking our stunned silence as a opening for explanations, she spoke softly, her eyes far away as she explained, "My past, what I told you of it at least, were all lies." She did not stop for questions, but continued in a defeated voice, "When I first saw you, we talked about our parents, and when you first told me your story, I was jealous and ashamed. I was jealous and ashamed because my upbringing was so much worse than yours.

"You see; I was never even planned. Laurent was sleeping with my mother, sure. But that was probably the extent of his affections towards my mother. He was going to kill her afterwards, like any normal incubus would. But then the villagers who were alerted by his presence interrupted him. Laurent ran away like a fucking coward. My mother thought they were in love, and when she fell pregnant, felt ecstatic at first.

"However, he never came back for her, and her thoughts towards me turned from loving to hatred. She was getting weaker because of me and had left her village with her sister to bring me up. The elders of the town wanted her to abort me, but she ran away to prevent that. Her sister killed animals for her, and she drank their blood. She drank for me, and that was how I learned that I was to drink animal blood.

"Once, she tried to kill me, but the womb protecting me was harder than that. However, I was fully aware of everything she was trying to do, as her thoughts mingled with mine. From her, I learned of the outside world and what my father looked like."

At this point, tears were streaming down her face, but she was not sobbing. She still looked as though she was far away and it seemed like we could not help her.

"When I was born, my mother died nearly instantly, only having enough time to hold me and name me. My aunty picked me up and I instinctively bit her and drained her before I knew what I was doing. But it was too late. I had killed her.

"Already, I was a murderer of two innocent people. Even with my young mind, I grasped the concept of my horrific actions and I wanted no more of it. Remembering that animals sustained me in the womb, I trained myself to drink only that, straying far from villages and anywhere populated with humans. Although, I did slip a few times; I was young, but that was still no excuse. Seven people are dead because of me."

Sophia paused for the space of several heartbeats, her mind far away.

"I grew up alone, but I taught myself to speak slowly, remembering words my mother and aunty used and sometimes going near enough to towns to hear voices. Years and years had passed. A decade had come and gone and I thought there was no reason for me to live. But I wasn't sure how I could go about killing myself.

"Then I met you two and you gave me reason to live. You were the first true friends and family I had ever had. But I had lied to you when we first met and I was afraid to tell you the truth in fear that you would reject me. After all, who would want someone their own mother rejected?" Sophia finally paused long enough for us to insert our own opinions on the surprising news.

Corrin spoke first, in a calm, quiet voice, "You have nothing, _nothing at all_, to be ashamed of. We both love you no matter what, and all that information did was make me admire you even more sweetheart. Sophia," he lovingly took her hands into his and forced her to look into his eyes as he went on to say, "you have been through so much, and I am honoured to be your friend, your family and your lover. You cannot choose your parents, so why would Bella and I judge you for that?"

More tears leaked down her cheeks and a second passed before she launched herself into his arms, relieved sobs escaping her. Corrin patted her on the back soothingly and I let them have their moment. I was in total agreement with Corrin on everything he said; her parents' actions and her actions as a confused child would not make me judge her.

At least this made more sense that the whole scientist vampire thing; I remembered being a little sceptical about the whole story, but I never questioned it after that day.

Clearing my throat, I smiled reassuringly at Sophia, and said quietly, "That still doesn't explain when and why you killed Laurent..." Wiping away her tears, with Corrin's arms wrapped around her frame, she seemed to gain enough strength from the gesture to continue.

"We were in France, near the Eiffel Tower. Remember the story I told you about those girls who were bad mouthing me in French, in that little café? Well, I needed some time alone to cool off, so I went around France alone for a few hours with my camera and took pictures. Days later, I developed them and saw_ him_ in one of them." Her voice was laced with disgust and hatred as she mentioned her unknowing father.

"At first, I felt shock, then abandonment and then, finally, I felt fury. But I wanted answers. Like all children abandoned by their parents, I wanted to know my history. So when Corrin was asleep, I went out through the streets and tried my hand at tracking a vampire I had never smelled before.

"It was the closest I had ever come to getting him. After I had finished maturing, I tried, but there was no way to discern his scent. But in France, there were few vampire tracks, and soon enough I found the right one."

Never had I seen such emotions fly across her face. Anger. Shame. Distaste. Loathing. Pity. Sadness. They came and went at such speeds it was hard to discern them individually. But the one that unsettled me most was the vulnerable face she displayed occasionally as she spoke. Sophia was always the strong female alpha I secretly looked up to since we met. It was hard to see her so insecure.

"All I had planned to do was talk to him, introduce myself and see where things went. However, I soon came across him with a girl in an alleyway. She was clearly saying no to his advances, but he was stalking her anyway. The scene just got me so angry. In a literal sense, I saw red. I fought Laurent and helped the girl escape. My anger took over me and I ... killed him. I thought that I left no trace; but I just remember now – that girl would have been one of the biggest clues, not to mention that his scent was all over her."

As I looked upon Sophia with amazement and empathy, I watched her bottom lip tremble a bit before she hid her face in Corrin's chest. Sucking in a deep breath, I told her softly, "You did the right thing. I'm sorry to say, but your father was a no good rapist and he deserved what he got. However, I wished that you didn't have to put up with what you did for so long by yourself."

Taking herself away from Corrin's soft embrace, she came over and hugged me tightly. For a few minutes, we were silent, lost in our own thoughts, but I broke the spell.

"You and Corrin have some things to talk over some more. I'll be heading back to get my necklace." Before I turned back, I saw Corrin shoot me a quick, thankful grin at what I said.

And then I ran full pelt back into the house. When I had created enough space between us, I felt my shield snap back and recoil more firmly around me. Within moments, I was back in the Cullen's presence, looking like I had taken nothing more than a calming stroll – if it were not for my windswept hair.

Wordlessly, Edward came behind me and put my necklace back on, gently sweeping my brown curls away from my neck so he could clasp it on. Slowly, I turned around with a sad smile and saw how his eyes burned with curiosity. Though I knew he wanted to know what happened in the forest, it was a conversation for another time. Everything that had happened today was just so emotionally taxing.

All I wanted now was something simple, instinctive, and easy to do...

And then I knew what it was time for. Smiling with more vigour now, I looked at Edward with sparkling eyes and suggested, "Want to go and get some lunch? Personally, I think that the deer that is around here is a wonderful thirst quencher, but I want to know what you think of the menu."

*******

**A/N: Okay, who the hell saw that coming? Sophia's dad being Laurent? You may think it is totally unrealistic or something, but hey - vampires don't exist. I think I can have a little creative licence here. **

**And all that random stuff about hybrids and what not were basically my own internal thoughts and or ramblings, and some was taken or inspired by conversations with friends. Seriously, all that stuff I rambled on about genetics and what not was made up - I am not a scientist and I am making all this shit up. Please realize I have not much knowledge on those particular subjects. I think the whole "Bella vomiting blood" makes sense, because if hybrids can drink their own blood, then they'd kill themselves. Eh, that's just my view. *Shrugs*. **

**Do you think the Cullen's reacted realistically or what? Was there anything that pissed you off or that annoyed you? If so, please tell me straight away!**

**And people keep asking for a practise fight between Bella and a Cullen. It will be seen next chapter. 'Kay? Be patient! There will be quite a bit of fluff in the next chapter, 'cause I thought there's been enough drama for a while. Writing fluff is weird for me though, I have to admit. Writing drama is more fun for me, I think.**

**Have some brownies for reading and reviewing. *Hint hint*. Leave me some love people. :-)**


	14. True Nature

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: Fluff ahead, m'hearties! (Arr, don't shoot me for my awful pirate impersonation here).**

**Some important facts that I need to clarify: Bella, Annalie and Corrin are all roughly 150 years old. Sophia is approximately 100 years old. Now, I know in earlier chapters, I mentioned that Charlie used artificial insemination to conceive Corrin. I am fully aware that artificial insemination was a recent invention – I'm just saying that as a vampire, he was smart enough to figure that all out a few centuries ago. Of course, his techniques and equipment weren't as good as today's, but he did the best with what he had. **

**If you think that is way too unbelievable, well, this is fiction, and FANFICTION at that. Give me some creative licence, people! *Sigh*. I feel much better getting that off my chest.**

**Disclaimer: I am as likely to own Twilight as the next person. Unless that person is Stephenie Meyers, 'cause she actually does own this stuff.**

*******

**EPOV**

"You want to go hunt?" I looked at Bella and felt utterly gob smacked. When we first met, I had thought about her and I going hunting together, but that always seemed like such an unreachable idea.

But then again, nearly everything I had thought was turned around on my head. Yet I could not say that I was displeased with the events. Bella was immortal and I had no more worries about changing her, no more worries about keeping up secrets, no more worries about my strength and no more worries about my venom hurting her. It was as though a burden had been lifted from my shoulders; a weight that I didn't know was there until it left.

We could be together and act natural. No more was it needed for me to go at everything at a human pace, and there was no need to restrain my strength around her. Even better, when we dined, it seemed like we could finally do that together.

"Seriously?" I asked her, a grin growing slowly on my face.

Rolling her eyes, she nodded and began pulling me to the doors that led into the woods in our backyard. Even though I was still frozen in shock, Bella was strong enough to pull me along. Her hand was warm and small, and slowly brought me back to reality.

I pulled Bella around in a hug and grinned crookedly at her. Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, "Try and catch me first."

Before she could understand what was going on, I bolted from her. After about two seconds, I heard her gently curse and then I heard her footfalls as she attempted to catch up to me. She was fast, amazingly swift on her feet, but I was faster. After about five minutes of racing, ducking and dodging through the surrounding trees and undergrowth, I suddenly stopped in an open patch of trees, and I heard the pitter patter of her feet stop too.

"Why did you stop?" said Bella, her eyes looking around for any signs of trouble.

But I answered her by pinning her to a tree and started attacking her lips with mine. She was surprised at first, but soon submitted with a gentle sigh. Her hands made their way into my hair, twisting in the curls that were swirling in the wind. However, most of my concentration was targeted at the warmth that was soon enveloping me.

Bella seemed to be all around me in her warmth, her scent, her little noises and when I looked at her, I could've drowned in her encompassing beauty. Her lips melded with mine and the feeling of ice and fire mixing together was pure bliss. Soon enough, the warmth melted the ice and my lips and hands were as warm as she was.

Soon enough, we broke apart for unnecessary air, taking gasping breaths, Bella creating a fog of white breath into the air. Our foreheads resting on one another, we stood in each other's embrace for what seemed like an immeasurable amount of time. Eyes bright with excitement from the kiss, her lips flushed a deeper red, pink flooding her cheeks as she stood before me, I could not help but think; _How did I get so lucky?_

With shining brown eyes, she stared at me, seeming happier than I've ever seen before. And to think that it was me that put that ridiculously cute grin on her face!

Finally, she broke the comfortable silence and spoke, "Not that I didn't like it, but what was all that for?"

Smirking happily, I answered back, "Because I could."

"Hmm, I noticed you came on a little strong there. You're not afraid of breaking me anymore, are you?" she asked me, her tone pleased.

Nodding, I opened my mouth to say something more, but she interrupted me with, "I liked it. It felt ... right. More natural when you aren't restraining yourself." Without conscience command, my mouth pulled into a lopsided grin at her comment.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any better, you tell me I can't hurt you, that you'll live forever and that you don't care that I'm a monster. What can't you do?" I whispered in her ear.

"Public speaking, painting, sketching, swimming –" Bella started to list off, but I stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.

"Public speaking? Really? You seem so confident though," I mused gently.

"Well, I'm only really confident with people I know. If I had to give a speech in front of the school, I'd probably freeze up," explained Bella.

Moving on, I queried, "You can't draw?"

"Yep. My figures look like scribbles. You've seen my handwriting; picture me trying to draw!" she admitted unabashedly. I laughed at her comment and smiled down at her.

"What about swimming? Corrin said that you guys don't really need to breathe."

"Well, I'm a fiery person. Who can blame me for being a little paranoid of having a sea of water putting that out? But I can swim a little, but I prefer wading in the shallow waters," Bella told me with a light smile playing across her features. "What about you though? You seem to be able to do so many things – where are your flaws?"

"There are so many, I won't be able to list them all." She nudged me playfully in the arm and I continued, "I have a temper, I'm insecure, I'm brooding –" She cut me off in the way I did to her, a finger on the lips. Silent, I waited for what she was planning to say.

"I can handle your temper, I know everybody's insecure at one time or another, and as for the brooding," she paused to flash me a grin. "I think I can lift your spirits there." And she removed her finger only to replace it with a searing hot kiss. _This woman would be the death of me_, I thought happily as I took her hands in mine and deepened the kiss some more.

A slight coughing noise broke us from our moment, and we turned to see Sophia standing casually behind us, her body leaning against a tree and her arms crossed.

Waving, she called out quietly, "Not that I don't mind seeing Bella happy and finally getting a little action," she paused to wink at Bella, causing a scowl and a rise in colour to her cheeks, "but Corrin won't be occupied with that bear forever. You better skedaddle before he comes and seeing you two making out. He'll go all overprotective in a second."

Nodding, taking her advice seriously, I pulled Bella by the hand out of the clearing. Before we left the area entirely, I heard Sophia call out, "Definitely five stars, Bella. You did good."

When we created some distance between Sophia and us, I turned to Bella and asked, "What was up with the whole "five stars" thing?"

Bella looked down at her tattered shoes, and blushed red. "Nothing," she lied in a quiet voice.

Raising an eyebrow, I decided to let it go for now, especially since the smell of a mountain lion evaded my nostrils. It was time for an early dinner.

*******

**BPOV**

As I stalked my first deer, the burn in my throat was growing increasingly uncomfortable as the smell of the animal filled my lungs. Just as I had moved to the perfect spot to move in for the kill, I saw out of the corner of my eye, Edward watching me with an amused expression. It was a little unnerving being watched as I was about to kill something, but I shook off the feeling.

Run, jump, and snap. Hunting was instinctual and animalistic. It was all routine now, pretty much. But I still felt bad for doing it. Before it could even register its fate, I had killed the deer quickly and quietly. Drinking the blood hurriedly before it cooled, I made sure to stay clean. In my family, I was always the neatest hunter. Though I sometimes got messed up, I tried to make a conscious effort to stay clean.

Wiping away a trickle of blood that was making its way down my chin, I looked up to see Edward still staring at me. Hmm. I assumed he had gone for his meal by now. When I was on the floor with the body, I didn't hear a sound from him, so I had thought he went.

Makes sense though that he wanted to see if I really drank blood. After all, I didn't look anything like a vampire. Still staring at me, I raised an eyebrow at Edward and silently asked what was up with him.

He shrugged and I scowled at him. "Your turn now. Then you can see how you like someone staring at you as you try to hunt."

With that, he pushed himself off the tree and ran towards a mountain lion. Though I had smelled that first, I waited until I came across some deer first. Call me picky, but I liked herbivores better. Just like how I prefer mint chocolate chip to strawberry ice cream. Preferences were what made us unique. I think Edward like carnivores more, judging by the way he was circling the poor thing.

Even in a different mindset, he was fluid in his movements, graceful in his step. It was an interesting experience to watch another person hunt, 'cause I believed it told a lot about someone. Edward was neat, meticulous and swift about his kill, totally different from Corrin's messy, playful kills.

Bored with watching Edward, I decided to tend a little more to the burn still firing up in my throat, and I headed west to where I found a young buck. Finishing up, I looked around for one more animal before going back.

Fresh blood entered my system and rejuvenated me. I felt stronger and more awake. But I knew that one more would fill me up.

Using my nose, I smelled another deer, but this one was lame and hurt. Its front leg was broken horribly, and I thought it would be best to put it out of its misery. Sighing, I rubbed my neck, thankful that the burn was gone and that my energy was coming back to me.

"Bella!" called out Edward, who was sprinting towards me. "Where did you run off to?"

"Can't spend all my time staring dumbly at you, now can I?" I replied jokingly, and Edward laughed quietly.

"You are quite the enigma Miss Swan," said Edward. I shrugged and laughed at him. Before I could say anything else, I remembered Angela. Though I had talked to her briefly in the morning before I left for the Cullen's, I was sure she was still worried. Actually, I was surprised and guilty that I had forgotten her for so long.

"Edward, can you give me a few minutes?" I asked. "I have to call Angela before she frets."

He nodded in understanding, and I whipped out my phone, which miraculously survived all the fire and fighting, probably because it was safe in my fireproof back pocket. As I watched Edward's retreating figure, I dialed Angela's number, and she picked up on the first ring, "_Bella, are you okay? It's been hours since we've talked! Did you find you sister or –_"

I interrupted her nervous ramblings before she could give herself a stroke. "Angela, breathe, calm down. I'm fine. No, I didn't find Annalie, but I found out it wasn't her who contacted me."

"_Who was it then?_"

"Don't ask," I said darkly, feeling some anger and shame welling up when I thought of Victoria.

"_Okay then,_" replied Angela respectfully. She knew when not to push me. "_Oh, before I forget, I'm just calling to say that I'm going to check up on my grandmother tonight, so don't wait up._"

"That's fine, I'm just hanging at the Cullen's house. I've got an idea! Bring her some of the flowers we have growing in the garden. I think she'd appreciate some colours in her room," I suggested to her.

"_Good idea. Bye then Bella. See you later,_" she said.

"See you then," I told her before she hung up. Stretching, I looked around me and noticed that the clouds were clearing up and I could see the sun going down. Without a word, Edward caught up with me and took my hand in his. We made our way back to the main house at a relaxed human pace. It was the first time in a while I had felt totally relaxed and I wanted to bask in the feeling. Everything was wonderful.

*******

As a rather large group, we were all sitting in the lounge room, all paired off with our own partners. Leaning against Edward was nice, but it didn't escape my notice the pointed glares Corrin sent to Edward. Burrowing my face into Edward's face to hide my smile, I sighed and felt Edward combing my hair with his fingers, gently untangling the knots he found. Humming in contentment at the gesture, I was absentmindedly playing with the buttons on Edward's shirt.

Alice's head suddenly whipped around at me and she said with realization dawning in her eyes, "If you knew we were vampires all this time, then why did you force us to dinner?"

Sophia, Corrin and I all shared a covert glance at getting caught before bursting into laughter. "Sweetie," I began to explain as the laughter died down. "It's not like you used your information to your benefit before too. Watching vampires trying to eat was a little amusing for us, but it was also a little payback."

"Huh?" queried a confused looking Alice.

"The sleepover. I have no doubt that you _saw_ the hailstorm and you disobeyed my requests of not staying over. There's this thing called "free will", Alice. I don't particularly like it when people try to con me into giving that up." Alice at least had enough humbleness to look shamefaced when I called her up for what she did.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" complained Edward.

"Exactly," I said casually, tracing patterns on his arm. "You did nothing. Instead you let her trick me into something I did _not_ want to do. Do you really think I was comfortable being stuck in a house of vampires? I nearly died of a panic attack then and there! Not to mention the screams I have because of my nightmares," my tone became more serious and bitter as I explained. "I didn't want you to know of my weaknesses."

"What are you talking about Bella? Screaming?" Rosalie asked with surprise.

"Sometimes I dream about the day my parents die. That alone is enough reason for me to start screaming. Some people sleep talk – I wake up with a scream," I replied dully.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry Bella! If I had known what I was doing... but I guess I really overstepped my boundaries there and for that, I beg for your forgiveness," Alice apologized at a rapid speed, and her face showed how sincere her words were.

Sighing, I leaned into Edward and said, "Yeah, I forgive you. But I guess I did go a little over board with the whole "dinner revenge thing". In my defense, that was Sophia's idea."

"Hey! I object to that!" she cried out in protest as I dragged her into the conversation. As we squabbled over where the blame rested, I noticed the tension in the room that had gathered over the previous conversation was dissipating. Finally, we agreed to blame Corrin for not stopping us. He half-heartedly tried to defend himself, but he seemed happier that we stopped bickering – even if our fighting was all jovial and in good fun.

Sophia and Corrin were then engaged in a conversation with Carlisle and Esme. They were animatedly talking about another coven of vegetarian vampires that lived up in Alaska. Apparently Eleazar was with them and we were definitely eager to meet the man. Although I still held apprehensions about meeting the entire coven, a prerequisite that Carlisle seemed to think necessary. However, it was good to know that Carlisle and Esme would call the "Denali" coven later. At the very least, it would be amazing to meet a friend of my father, especially one held in such high regards.

Though we were worried at first about their reactions, the Cullen's assured us that this coven was trustworthy and that they were good vampires. As I trusted the Cullen's, in turn, I trusted their word as well.

As the topic died down, we all enjoyed a few moments of peace with our companions. Curious about Edward's mind reading abilities, I lowered my mental shield, just a bit, to see how he'd take hearing my voice.

Feeling stupid, I called out in my mind; _Hello?_

Edward visibly jumped and flinched in surprise, looking down at me in wonder. My shield immediately recoiled when he jumped and he now looked confused that he couldn't hear me anymore.

"I _heard_ you," he whispered, ignoring the fact that he drew everyone's attention onto us.

Shrugging to hide my slight discomfort and embarrassment, a fruitless effort considering the blush spreading on my cheeks, I said, "I wondered what it would be like for you to hear me. So I lowered my guards a bit."

"Fascinating," commented Carlisle lightly. His eyes were bright as he observed me. "Can you do it again?"

"Maybe later. I don't really feel comfortable doing it again in front of everyone, especially when you are all staring at me," I confessed reluctantly.

Edward nodded, but looked enthused at the chance to hear me. Not being able to hear my family or me must have confounded him greatly. That is, until he heard the truth.

"So," Corrin cleared his throat and started to speak, obviously changing the subject. "We were wondering a bit about you guys, your past and what not. If you wish not to tell us, we will respect that and not push for more. If you can tell us, we'd all appreciate that extra information."

Carlisle readily shared his past and I was surprised to hear his history so intermingled with the Volturi. Even more surprising was the fact he changed Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett. That was a lot of people to change. I had previously assumed it was several different covens merging.

When he finished, I was wondering what to say, but Corrin blurted out, "Wow, you are old!" We all laughed at this, which caused Corrin to blush. "In my defense," he started, "Dad wasn't even as old as him!"

"Edward, how old are you?" I asked with interest.

He answered back automatically, "Seventeen." I slapped his arm playfully and he said, "I was born in 1901."

Corrin started laughing his head off at that, and I scowled at him. "Bella, you cougar!" He meowed and clawed the air before laughing at me some more. I frowned at him and Sophia chastised him by slapping the back of his head.

"It's not my fault I'm half a century older!" I snapped at him, my cheeks painted red. "Anyway, you're older than Sophia too!"

"Ahh, but I'm a man; having a younger woman means I'm damn lucky," he teased, still a little breathless from all the laughter. Sophia shot him a sharp glance that made him hurriedly add on, "Umm, I'm also incredibly lucky for getting a gal like you in the first place." Her gaze softened, but I was still a little peeved off from the cougar comment. Why wasn't there really any male equivalent for the term "cougar"?

"Stupid sexist social policies," I grumbled inaudibly.

Deciding to ignore my brother, I asked Edward to explain when he was changed.

"I was born and raised in Chicago. My parents and me caught the Spanish influenza. My father, Edward Sr., passed away first, but before my mother, Elizabeth, died, she told Carlisle to help me in any way possible... and he changed me. That's pretty much it," he concluded quickly. I looked at him with sympathetic eyes, and he smiled gently in return.

We quickly heard Rosalie's story, mumbled and quiet. Her hands were fidgety and she seemed tense and unhappy at having to recall everything. It was terrible what she had to go through and I felt a sudden surge of understanding to a lot of her actions throughout the time I've known her, like her defensive snapping and her interest in self-defense.

Having her fiancé rape her and leave for dead must have scarred her so badly. I don't know whether I would have been able to cope as well as she did. But at least she got her happy ending with Emmett.

There was a moment of pause, and everyone lapsed into thoughtful silence. Several moments later, for no reason at all, Corrin burst into laughter.

"Okay," I snapped loudly at Corrin. "You could _not_ have found anything funny in that."

"Well, no offense or anything, but I did. Not in the story we just heard, which I know must have been a terrible experience, but in Edward."

Turning to the Cullen's, I said, "Sorry, my brother isn't usually this insensitive..."

"Hear me out!" cried out Corrin. "Edward's father was called Edward, right?" Edward nodded, unsure of where he was going with this. "In a way, that makes you Edward the second, right?" We all nodded and my patience was wearing thin.

"Don't you remember our years of history lessons? Come on Bella, you must see the irony," he encouraged as I stared on blankly.

Sophia gasped, her eyes lighting up and she began to giggle, "Oh, I remember! King _Edward_ the second of England married _Isabella_ of France in 1308."

"Oh har-de-har," I drawled sarcastically. "And I bet that it's hilarious to you that King Edward II was also widely speculated as being homosexual, isn't it?" At this, I dropped my act and started to giggle a bit too. Then the Cullen's joined in with the laughter too. Edward was smiling; his eyes alight with our amusement at his expense.

Snickering, I turned to Jasper and said, "Can you explain what's up with your scars?" For this, I was really intrigued. Sophia was saying that he was a member of the Volturi, but I stuck to the Southern Wars as my theory. Corrin had said he didn't care about where he got those bites; he was more interested in the fact that Jasper must have been a good fighter.

"I was a fighter in the vampire wars of Mexico," answered Jasper quietly. He jumped a little when I laughed and pointed at Sophia, crying out, "Told you so!"

"You guys were speculating about us?" asked Jasper.

"Yep," I said indifferently. "Sophia thought you might have been a member of the Volturi guard, but I had the right answer all along."

"I don't care about that," interrupted Corrin. "I just want to know how good of a fighter you are to survive that many attacks!"

"Which reminds me, I want a go against little Bella over there!" yelled Emmett excitedly.

"Sure, we can fight now," I nodded. "So, how am I getting disadvantaged? Blindfolded, two-on-one...?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Emmett blankly.

"Oh you don't think I'll fight you without being handicapped, do you? That's not fair for you!" I teased, half serious.

A growl came from Emmett's chest, "You wounded my ego, Bella. You wounded it bad. I don't need any help, thank you very much."

I raised my hands in defeat and said, "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Emmett huffed and it made my brother laugh.

Standing up, I stretched and asked lazily, "Where do you want to do this?"

"You can choose the place, 'cause it don't matter where we go; I'm taking you down," said Emmett cheekily.

"The dog with the loudest bark is the one with the most fear," I heard Corrin whisper a quote that one of my old masters used to say a lot. Grinning at him, he flashed me a confident thumbs up.

"Right-i-o then," I drawled. "We'll just fight outside of the house then. I'm too lazy to go any further."

Esme said worriedly, "Oh, I'm not so sure whether fighting is the best idea... One of you could get hurt."

"Don't worry Esme," I said quickly. "I'll leave Emmett in one piece." Emmett growled loudly, and made his way out to the backyard with an annoyed huff.

Edward grabbed my arm, and said anxiously, "Bella, we've seen you fight. There's no need to prove yourself."

I shrugged and kept moving towards Emmett. Edward grabbed my arm again and pleaded, "I don't want to see you get hurt."

Smiling, I pecked him on the cheek and whispered, "That's sweet of you, but I'm not a weak little girl."

"I know that," replied Edward. "But I don't want you to face any unnecessary danger."

His concern was sweet, but it was really starting to get annoying. "Corrin," I called out. "Want to show them a thing or two first? I think Edward here needs an extra demonstration."

Cracking his knuckles, Corrin crouched into a fighting stance and grinned at me. Before anyone could act, he leapt at me, his right foot heading swiftly towards me. I stood my ground and instead of twisting away, I grabbed Corrin's foot and pulled, throwing him off balance. When he tried to tug his feet from my grip, I twisted my wrist, forcing him to throw his weight to the right to balance up.

My heart race began to speed up a bit, but not by much. The biggest reaction was the exhilarating feel of adrenaline coursing through my body, giving strength and speed to my limbs. Everything seemed sharper, and somehow slower. These were all benefits of the huge chemical reaction going on inside me.

Pulling his foot away, he threw a few punches, which I casually deflected. But he was just pulling my attention away from the swift kick he landed in my gut, leaving me winded. Doubled over, I saw him try to take advantage of this, but I cart wheeled backwards, leaving a good gap between us.

Running around him, I tried to pull him into a headlock, but he resisted easily, and using my own weight against me, and held me around the waist. Using a quick rabbit punch, and a forceful stomp on his feet, he let me go and we faced one another once more.

Sophia ran in-between us and yelled, "Okay, okay, we get it already. Now stop it. You two can go at it for ages, and I think Emmett might get a fit from waiting." And sure enough, Emmett was watching us battle with a mixture of exhilaration, admiration and excitement.

We lowered our hands, and I grumbled, "I totally would have won that though."

"Keep telling yourself that," retorted Corrin under his breath, a slight smile playing on his features.

Turning to Edward, I shrugged and said, "See? No need to worry. It is actually possible for me to fight without getting hurt. I'm as, if not more, indestructible as you all are." He nodded mutely and I grinned brightly. Now I threw all my attention into the new battle I was facing.

Clearing my throat, I rattled off some ground rules quickly, "Okay Emmett. Only rules I generally use are no biting and no ripping off of limbs. Just because you can't scar me doesn't mean I enjoy the sting of venom. And putting limbs back on is just an unnecessary pain. 'Kay?" He grunted in response and I took that as an agreement.

Our families were gathered around us in a circle, while Emmett and I paced around each other, both looking for an opening. When Emmett shifted his weight, I knew he wanted to attack first. When he leapt at me, I smiled and braced myself for impact.

*******

"You know what I am," I snarled at him, his arms pinned behind his back. All I got in response was a snort. "Are you afraid?" All I got was another snort in response.

"Say it. Out loud," I demanded, digging my knee into his back.

"Fine, fine," he conceded loudly. "You are the winner, Bella. Yeesh, can you get off me now?" I smiled and leapt off him with more grace than I usually displayed.

"Sorry Emmett. It was a good fight, but you kept using brute force over technique. That was your downfall," I explained patiently.

I thought Emmett would be sulking, but his face brightened up and he said, "I won't go easy on you next time!" I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm, but smiled happily at him.

"Jasper, your turn," I said, cracking my knuckles in a mock threatening gesture.

"Err," he shot an unsure look at Edward and I scowled.

"Hello?" I waved at him to grab his attention. "Edward may be my boyfriend, but he is _not_ my keeper. I'm a big girl and I can look after myself."

After getting a nod from both Alice and a reluctant nod from Edward, Jasper took a deep breath and began to analyze me. I could practically see his brain click into another state, where I was the enemy and therefore, I had to be taken down. A new shot of adrenaline coursed through me and I felt the power flow through my limbs.

Jasper took a step forward and then shot out a fist hard and fast, aiming for my stomach. I blocked him with my forearm and before he had time to blink, the back of my hand was heading straight for his face. At the same time, my other hand was punching towards his stomach, fast and low.

However, his instincts were superb, and in a near instantaneous movement, he twisted his entire body away from my attacks and hit back with a blow of his own, using his lanky frame to his advantage.

Effortlessly, I blocked his hand, but what I didn't expect was the kick he was throwing my way. 'Cause I didn't notice it in time, it hit me with a glancing blow. Deflecting kicks was not a specialty of mine, but delivering them was another matter. Grinning, I straightened out my left leg and kicked it in a sharp jab, aiming for his gut, but he grabbed my leg and twisted the limb.

Instead of fighting the movement, I followed it and spun my entire body around, and the movement caught Jasper off balance. He was still holding my leg, so I bent my knee, bringing Jasper closer to me.

I straightened my leg out again, and this time it made proper contact with his chest. He stumbled a bit and instinctual growls were ripping from him. Suddenly, before I could register his change in posture, he started running at me and effectively tackled me to the ground.

My shoulder left an indentation in the ground where I landed, and I hissed in mild pain. The land nearly dislocated my shoulder, but I had twisted away at the last moment. As Jasper made a movement to stand, I spun around and kicked the back of his legs, causing him to fall next to me.

Panting, I kneed him in the gut, and flipped him over on his back, his arms twisted behind in the same hold I had Emmett in earlier. But he used an odd little move that flipped me onto the bottom.

Slightly dazed from the sudden change of positions, Jasper took advantage and tried to pull me up and trap me in a headlock. I hated headlocks. Elbowing him heavily in the gut, I kicked the back of his knees again, which made him stumble. Bad news was that his arm was still locked around my neck.

Resisting the urge to rip or bite his arm off, I pulled back sharply, freeing my head from the hold. Unfortunately, the move gave Jasper time to get back on his feet and back to his senses.

Glancing at his posture, he was crouched, and I instinctively mirrored that. Using all of my hands and legs, I pushed off at and leapt and him. We tumbled in a flailing mess of limbs, all of which were attempting to punch or kick the other.

Everything was so fast, that soon, all that filled my mind was kicks, punches, defensive movements and what not. Hisses and growls were filling the air as we hastened to gain the upper hand.

Jasper was a fantastic fighter; his skills were flawless, his reaction time was fast and his judgments in attacks were usually right. What surprised me was that he had treated me like an equal straightaway. Emmett was gentle with me at first until he saw I wasn't so gentle after all.

At one point, we somehow got free of one another's grasp and we were circling each other, looking at the other like a predator looks at their prey. It was then a small gap in clouds moved slightly and sunlight hit Jasper straight on the face. His glittery face was too much for me and I began laughing.

I knew that vampires were meant to sparkle, seeing as every molecule in their body had strengthened to a diamond like finish, giving them their power and beauty, but seeing Jasper sparkle was like seeing a sibling running around with body glitter all over them. And that reminded me of the time we went to Mardi Gras and Corrin went overboard with his costume – lots of sparkly glitter everywhere.

"Ha ha," I wheezed through bursts of laughter. "You look like you've got body glitter all over you. How manly," I concluded sarcastically. My laughter was cut short as Jasper took my distraction and used it to his advantage, tackling me in the middle with a little more force than what I was used to from him. I guess my comment really peeved him off. But what can I say? Glitter is not something to fear – even if a killing machine sparkles.

For an immeasurable period of time, we were growling, screeching and hissing as we fought off one another. A pair of hands were pulling me from Jasper and I looked around, confused at what was happening. Sophia smirked at me and said, "You've been going at it for a little under an hour. I think we'll call it a tie for now." An hour? Wow, I wasn't paying any attention to the time at all.

Jutting my bottom lip out, I whined, "Aww, Sophia, I nearly had him!"

She shook her head and we laughed. I went over to Jasper and shook his hand and congratulated him, "Wow, that had to be one of the best fights I've had in a decade. Thanks Jasper!"

He grinned and put his hands in his pockets. Looking him up and down, I noticed that his clothes were ripped and dirty. Checking my own outfit out, I noticed that we matched with rips and tears and stains of dirt and mud.

Before I could comment on my need for new clothes, Jasper beat me to it. "Damn girl, you made a mess of my clothes," he complained with a light grin.

Rolling my eyes at him, I laughed and said, "You didn't do too bad either."

Alice cried out excitedly, "I can get you some clothes!"

Waving off her offer, I replied, "Don't bother, I might do something to rip them up too. You never know. So I'll change after a shower. But I'm holding off on that for later too."

Suddenly, Edward was in front of me, his eyes shining with excitement. "You were incredible!"

Poking him in the ribs, I teased, "Told you that I'm awesome."

"I think you need some humble pie, Miss Swan," replied Edward.

As I was about to say something witty back, I heard Corrin yell out, "Think fast Swan!"

Spinning around, I caught an apple before it would collide with my head. Smiling at him, I took a bite and nodded my head in thanks.

"Bella! Can you cook my pear?" I heard Sophia yell out. They must have got the fruit from the Cullen house.

Turning around, I saw a pear flying towards me and I caught it with a flaming hand. When the fruit was sufficiently cooked, I threw it back at Sophia and swallowed the bite I was chewing in my mouth. This was a usual move for Sophia, forcing me to flame random things for her benefit, but my actions caused the Cullen's to look at me with mild surprise.

"I am _not_ going to be target practice. Y'all got to stop throwing stuff at me!" I cried out.

They laughed and I frowned at them all. Eating my way through the apple, I saw Rosalie looking at me appreciatively. "What?" I asked, a little self conscious at the way she was looking at me.

"Who knew a little trooper like you could take down both Emmett and tie with Jasper? You are really good," she said lightly, but I heard the sincerity of her words.

"Thanks," I said. "But Emmett was easy stuff."

"I heard that!" bellowed Emmett loudly from across the backyard.

Wincing, I replied, "I like having eardrums Emmett. Keep it quiet." Emmett and Corrin laughed jovially at this, their booming sounds merging to make a babble of noise. Finishing my apple, I threw my apple core a good distance away, knowing it would decompose in the earth. Suddenly fatigued, I realized that I wanted some alone time with Edward.

Pulling a silent Edward by the hand, I mumbled, "Come with me, I need some peace and quiet." We ran silently into the forest, hand in hand, before we slowed to a calming stroll.

"Wait, I want to show you something," said Edward quietly.

Looking at him interestedly, he pulled me forward, and we were once more traveling at an inhuman pace. Trees and branches whipped past us, and I saw several pairs of animal eyes stare at us with fright. Finally we stopped and we stumbled into a beautiful meadow, open and full of flowers.

Even without much light, I could tell it was beautiful. Obviously it would look better when the sun was out and the flowers were open wider, but it looked gorgeous all the same. Piles of snow were dispersed randomly throughout the meadow, some of it already melted, but the mounds that hadn't sparkled dimly.

With wordless command, we both lay down and looked up at the sky. In silence we lay in each other's embrace and looked at the sky above.

Looking up at the beautiful night sky, content with my lot in the world, I sighed happily and leaned back into the partially melted snow, my arms crossed behind my head as a makeshift headrest. Hearing the light breathing next to me informed me that Edward stopped thinking so hard, and was now relaxing with me, under the gorgeous canopy of stars.

Swirling galaxies, supernovas and dying suns, were visible to humans only by telescope, but to Edward and I, they were clear as day. To be part vampire on a clear night, such as tonight, was definitely a blessing. It was in moments like this I could forget all the evils of my being and existence and just revel in the sheer beauty of the heavens.

I noted a shooting star pass by, but then a large cluster of stars stole my attention by twinkling and sparkling dimly. The sheer beauty and peace of it all, took my breath away from me. Turning my head, I saw Edward looking at me like I looked at the stars – with awe, with hope, with peace, and with joy. But he had an additional emotion that I had seen only in others; he looked at me with what appeared to be … love.

Scared and slightly unnerved from the sight, I turned away, blushing all the while. I didn't know if I – if we – were ready for the next step yet. We had all eternity, but could we, _would we_ commit to it together? It seemed terrifying, yet amazingly intriguing. But until I was sure of my choice, I would not proceed. This was not a light topic I could decide in a day. Luckily, I had a dozen lifetimes to think it through.

Now what was in my line of sight was the moon. The moon was bright and was currently in a crescent shape. It would have to wait another two weeks before the cycle brought it to a full moon. However, I loved seeing the crescent moon the best. It was the perfect portrayal of the light and the dark brought together.

In a way, it represented me.

Moons weren't one-of-a-kind objects, but they were certainly rarities; objects of fascination and of the unknown. The moon had control over the pull of the tides and over the sea. Though water wasn't my forte, I could bend fire to my will. It was the dark side of the moon that drew people in, with questions of why the moon had to hide a part of itself. Reflected sunlight made the moon glow bright and the shadows made it dark. Just like me.

I represented the combination of the light of humans and the dark nature of vampires.

However, the dark was not as bad as I used to think. On a dark and stormy night, you can always try find the silver lining in the clouds. Even in the shadows of the night, light can be found. And I found my light in the Cullen's, most importantly, Edward.

He was my shining star, and I was hopefully his. We were content and at peace together. It was bliss.

At least, for now.

*******

**EPOV**

Bella fell asleep in the meadow and I gently lifted her up into my arms and carried her home at a leisurely pace. Her brown locks fell haphazardly around her peaceful face, and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed deeply, seeming to be in one of the later stages of sleep.

Sighing, she squirmed a little in my grasp before stilling into relaxation once more. A few mumbles escaped her parted lips, but I could discern nothing from the slurred jumble of noise. Her tiny hands somehow made their way into my T-shirt and loosely fisted the fabric there.

It amazed me that she could lower her defenses and guards around me. Sleep was like the weakest point for any creature and to fall asleep before me was surely a sign of deep trust. But the greatest sign of trust was getting her family to tell us their secret.

It was my turn to man up and tell her my secret. _I love you Bella Swan_, I thought as I gazed upon her restful features. After this huge revelation of Bella's species died down a bit, I could confess what I felt in my heart and only hope she would return the gesture.

But I was unsure of what to do if she didn't. Obviously, I would not try to connive her into loving me. I could not be away from her, but I hoped that telling her would not make her feel uncomfortable around me. How her family, and my family, would take this news, I was also unsure of.

This reminded me of the first time Bella and I had met. Confusion was something I was not particularly fond of, and I wished for the hundredth time that I could read what was in Bella's mind. What did she think of me? And what did she feel about me?

I guess time would tell...

*******

**A/N: Aww, sweetness galore! However, don't put money on seeing a lot more – you see I'm not too much of a fluff girl. So, this "happy times" won't last too long. But first, I'm going to get Bella to meet the Denali coven. Personally, I think meeting Eleazar would do a world of good for the Swan's.**

**Umm, the mention about **_**Edward the second marrying Isabella of France**_** was actually true. And I want to thank **_**Faded Feathers**_** for unknowingly providing me with the information, from ages ago. However, good old Wikepedia informed me of the extra details. :-)**

**How were the multiple fights I added in? Too much or not enough? When Bella laughed at Jasper for being sparkly, I thought that to be a more realistic reaction – 'cause a monster that glitters does seem to lack that certain edge.**

**Ice cream for reading and a smoothie for reviewing. And an extra cookie for constructive critism! :-)**


	15. Reliving Pasts

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: Finally updated. Please note that I actually got pretty much nothing done on my holiday, so chapters 9 - 15 remain unedited. My betas have returned the chapters, so don't blame them, blame me. :-( But I decided I should update anyway as an early Christmas present to you all!**

**Bella and her family finally encounter Eleazar and his coven. Momentous moment here!**

**Wolves will not make an appearance. In the **_**Twilight Saga**_**, they only really came into action in **_**New Moon**_**, when the pack had grown enough to be a threat. At the time of **_**Twilight**_**, it was still very small and non-threatening, so they couldn't go across Cullen land. Well, that's my reasoning, anyway.**

**Disclaimer: It's quite a simple equation to work things out.**

_**(Me + FanFiction) x Logic = I don't own Twilight or its affiliates.**_

*******

**APOV**

_Edward and Carlisle were facing off in a study I recognized immediately as my father's. Both showed varying levels of distress and anguish. The light in the window was dim, indicating that this was happening in the afternoon, or at least, I suspected that. The visions of future events were often hard to pinpoint._

"_She needs to go, Edward!" Carlisle was trying to convince Edward, his voice soothing, and though I could not hear it, I would assume that his mental voice was calming, too._

"_She _says_ she needs to! There's a difference!" hissed Edward, rubbing his face with his hands, frowning with frustration." The danger she would face..." His voice trailed off, obviously distressed beyond words at this point._

"_Though you think otherwise, you know as well as I do that she can take care of herself," argued Carlisle. "Bella needs to go to Italy, Edward. I would not stop her. Go along with her; don't cause further discord with your stubbornness. Support her!" Carlisle's voice was strong, but with a pleading undertone, his need for Edward to understand clear to see._

"I'm_ being the stubborn one?" crowed Edward angrily. "She could well be heading into a deadly trap! How could you, or anyone else for that matter, expect me to support such an endeavor?" _

_With a mild jolt of surprise, I saw myself enter the room, and say in an authoritative tone, "You are going to support her. In fact, you're going to do more than that. You're going to go with her." Seeing myself thrusting out two tickets towards the boys wasn't disorientating in the slightest. My hard expression had me a little more worried though. As my eyes trained on the tiny print, I saw that the tickets were plane tickets to Italy._

"_Sophia and Corrin have already got their tickets, so hurry up and pack your bags. Keep it light – you won't be there long," I ordered Edward, before quickly making my way out of the room. Before I left, I turned my head to say one last thing._

"_Look inside of you. What does your heart say?" Everything then faded to black._

What the hell was that?

Like a film playing in my mind, I saw the story play out with perfect clarity, the actors on screen working in sync to get to the ending. But of late, my endings were cut off, not to mention the occasional introduction, a downside to Bella and her family's presence. My once clear visions were reduced to flickery scenes, short and confusing. So I was left with only parts of the information, not really seeing the whole picture.

Yet, through years of trial and error, I knew better than to ignore a warning like this. Without much thought on my part, my hands were already working away furiously at the computer in front of me, and I slowly registered that I was making online bookings for a flight to Italy, scheduled for later this night.

Though it may have seemed strange to some, it was not out of the norm for my body to instinctively make plans in accordance to the future. After working with such a gift for so many years, there were some things I did as if it were second nature, instinctual almost.

And my instincts were telling me to keep this news quiet. So I planned on doing so.

But I still felt unsettled. Which was understandable after seeing such a conflicting vision. Why would Bella need to go to Italy? And what supposed danger lay ahead for her?

*******

**BPOV**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Angela asked me, concern clouding her eyes. She had good reason to be concerned. I was standing before her in my fluffy blue robe, my nose an angry red, and my hair limp and dull on my shoulders.

To anyone else, I looked ill. To my brother, I looked stupid. Or at least, that's what he told me.

My face was splotched with red and white makeup, making it appear as if I was running a fever, and oil was rubbed thoroughly through my hair, making it seem terrible. Dark eyeshadow underneath my eyes gave the impression that I wasn't getting enough sleep. Sophia really was a whiz at makeup. After years of needing to change identities for photos and records, she had gotten good at costumes. Not to mention the additional practice from all the dress-up parties we've visited.

Today was Monday, and I had no wish to participate in school; the Denali coven were coming down today, and I was excited at the prospect of meeting Eleazar. Corrin was especially intrigued; he was keen to see the differences and similarities between their abilities. The idea of several more vampires coming here made me a little nervous, but they were all hailed as being successful vegetarians.

The last few days were a rush of emotions, a rush of information and news, so much that I nearly got swept up in the flow, but I did find time to relish in the small things. Like how I fell asleep in Edward's arms. Who knew that ice cold marble was a comfortable bedding area?

To placate Angela, I croaked in a false hoarse voice, my performance worthy of an Oscar, "It's fine. I've got Corrin and Sophia to look after me, when they get back from the store. You can go to school and try to relax with Ben. Don't worry about me, I'm a tough cookie."

I didn't enjoy lying to Angela, but there really wasn't a way to tell her that I was going to see a friend of my father who was coincidentally connected to the Cullen's without raising questions. Questions I was sure that I would falter in answering.

After several more minutes of gentle convincing, I got Angela to leave. When I heard her truck leave the vicinity, I rushed to the kitchen to remove the hideous makeup from my face.

After the makeup was scrubbed off, I had a nice hot shower, returning my hair into its natural state of shininess and cleanliness. Drying off the excess water, I walked out of the bathroom wrapped securely in a towel, and I looked for something to wear.

Nervous on meeting a friend of my father, I decided on wearing a deep blue halter neck dress, made out of a silky fabric, giving the illusion that the dress shimmered. It was slightly ironic bringing a low cut dress to one of rainiest places in the United States, but the clouds were showing no sign of bearing rain today, thankfully.

Also, I needed to wear something that would suit a date. Last night, when Edward carried me home in his arms – a gesture I couldn't believe that Corrin allowed, until Sophia told me she kept him too busy to notice – I stirred awake when he placed me on my bed. Taking that time alone to the best use, he asked me out; Edward said something about how we haven't had a "proper" date yet, where we were both alone over a meal (and he didn't count the fact we had hunted together).

So the plan was that after spending the morning with the Denali coven, Edward promised that the afternoon was ours, and he would take me out to a wonderful lunch in some restaurant, but Edward was keeping any further details than that a secret. The secrecy didn't annoy me too much; I knew Edward would do a wonderful job of organizing the whole thing, so I let him have his fun.

After the lunch, I would come home in time to see Angela, and I would be miraculously cured, ready for school tomorrow. The Cullen's disappearance wouldn't be dodgy as the sun was out today, making a light appearance through the thin cloud cover still blanketing the area, and they were renown for leaving school to go "hiking" on the sunny days. Only today, they were arranging a meeting with Eleazar. And after that, Edward was taking me out.

Luckily, this dress would work well for both occasions; I would look suitable for introductions and elegant enough for a dinner out. Hopefully, I wouldn't make a mess of it, 'cause I really didn't want to go through the trouble of changing again.

The idea of being alone with Edward didn't make me nervous, but it definitely made my heart soar at the fact he was putting so much effort into this.

Redirecting my attention to the dress, I noted that there were many details about it that pleased me. With a flared rim that fell just below the knee, I looked quite feminine in the attire, or at least, that's what I thought as I swished around in it. The blue made my skin glow beautifully; Sophia had told me the exact same thing when we went shopping ages back and I had tried it on.

What concerned me was the fact that the dress was backless, all the way until just a few inches above the base of my spine. The emptiness left me feeling a little over-exposed, but other than that I liked the dress immensely. It had a high collar, a blue band that surrounded and covered my neck, connected with the main section of fabric to effectively cover my chest to show some modesty to contrast to the amount of skin showing in my back. In truth, it wasn't that much skin showing, but I wasn't used to wearing dresses like these.

I pulled a handful of circular silver bands through my hand and let them jingle on my wrist. Staring at my reflection, I mused that it was unfortunate that I could not pierce my ears, otherwise I would be wearing some lovely earrings. Never one for rings or necklaces (other than my reed pipe), I passed the rest of the optional jewelery.

Pulling a brush through my slightly damp hair, I styled it slightly, curling the ends, and making my hair a little more wavy than usual. Finally, I swept the left side back and clipped it in place with a pearl hair clip, a gift Corrin gave it to me a while back; he had made it himself, collecting the pearls right from the beaches of various countries we had visited.

Stalking back into the bathroom, I looked around, trying to find that something extra. Adding a layer of lip gloss on my lips gave them that extra sparkle, which I decidedly liked, but I scowled at the pile of makeup Sophia left on the counter. She was beautiful, but liked to dabble a lot in makeup. Sighing, I put all her makeup back in place, and turned back into my room.

Stepping into a pair of strap on blue high heels, the shoes completed my ensemble. Looking in the mirror, I scowled a bit. This was the most girly I had appeared since women received equal rights after the wars (not including formal events that I've been to, like dances).

I hated and loved it in equal measure.

It was good on my ego to dress up every now and then, but I would never do it every day. Even with eternity stretching out in front of me – in theory, at least – I could never throw away time every day like I did today. Also, this dress stopped me from being able to ride my bike. Sophia was already sewing me up a new riding jacket, but she wouldn't be able to finish it for a while 'cause Corrin kept "sidetracking" her. I didn't even want to know what they did.

Grabbing a navy blue clutch purse and filling it with things I would need, like my phone, I was finally done. I had everything I needed for today and tonight.

Smiling a mildly confident grin at my reflection, I made my way downstairs, the clacking of my heels resounding in the silence. The noise made me smile as I remembered the month I spent learning to walk in heels with falling or crushing them with my weight and or inhuman strength. At the time, the nuisance just caused me to swear a lot; but enough time had passed for me to look upon the situation with laughter, regardless of my perfect memory. Finally, Sophia helped me to find the perfect balance I needed in them.

The crushing noise of gravel came from outside and I knew Corrin and Sophia were back with the car. I had told Angela that they went out for groceries, but in actual fact they went to the Cullen's to get a car to transport us all. Though the idea of transport was unnecessary, I think the offer was to allow Corrin to give one of the many cars residing in the Cullen's garage some time for a spin.

Boys and their toys. They can keep the cars; they could never compare to the utter thrill and speed given by a motorcycle.

Corrin whistled loudly as he gave me the once over, looking at my outfit. Sophia gave me a cheesy thumbs up and I laughed, tossed my hair to one shoulder, and pretended to strut my stuff like a model. It made me feel silly and light hearted – exactly what I needed to dissipate the tension I could gathering within myself.

He touched my back lightly, helping me get into the car. When we were all seated, Corrin and Sophia started to talk.

"It's a good thing you're finally taken; I won't have to scare away any more boys," joked Corrin with an easy grin. I eyed him suspiciously. Why was he so flippant and relaxed about Edward and me?

"What did you do?" I accused immediately.

Corrin's face was one of innocence, but before he could deny any wrongdoing, Sophia interjected, "He had a talk of sorts with Edward." Frowning, Corrin shot Sophia a look of pseudo-betrayal as I stared at him with a growing sense of amusement and anger.

"What did you say?" I growled, still torn between the two conflicting emotions.

Clearing his throat and shooting my a bright grin, Corrin started to explain, "Technically, I said nothing to Edward –"

"– Yeah, Corrin just shot him a couple dozen very vivid – _violent_ – mental images when he returned from taking you home," concluded Sophia. Corrin huffed at Sophia, appearing displeased that he was spoiling her fun. Then his eyes widened and he cried out loudly, "He took you home?!"

My eyes widened in response as I watched him get steadily more frustrated, so I quickly placated him by saying, "I won't berate you for your mind games with Edward, so long as you don't get all crazy over the fact he carried me home when I fell asleep in his arms."

Giving me the evil eye, I watched as he nodded slowly and turned into his usual joking self. Big brother Corrin had to be disengaged quickly, and from experience I knew it was best to calm him early before panic could really set in.

Climbing into the car, Corrin cleared his throat and asked, "You nervous, Bella?"

"You bet," I answered honestly. My nerves were jumpy at the planned meeting, and I could tell Corrin felt the same. Sophia wasn't as effected, but we had been a unit for so long, we could sort of anticipate the feelings of one another, so some of our nerves were rubbing off onto her.

We reached the house in record time, much of which was thanks to Corrin's insane driving. Sophia and I got out the car, and left Corrin to park the car. The Cullen's met us out front, but the Denali family weren't there yet. So I quickly leapt to Edward's side and he enveloped me in a quick hug, but when he let go, his expression changed from content to confused.

Wordlessly, he spun me around, and whatever he saw on my back made Emmett laugh loudly and Alice stifle giggles. Patting my back, my hand strangely came into contact with paper and I ripped it off, only to be aghast at what I had found. Corrin had taped a piece of paper to my back, in an immature prank.

It said, "Bite Me".

What a messed up sense of humor. Really, sending me into a house of vampires with that sign taped to my back. _Real mature, Corrin_, I thought with a scowl on my face.

Scrunching up the paper into an indistinguishable wad of white pulp, I started to unlace my heels. At this point, Corrin had made an appearance, his arms wrapped around Sophia, curious to what I was doing. When he did stuff like this, I usually retaliated immediately. But all I was doing was laying down a false sense of security.

Both my shoes in hand, I threw them to Alice and asked her to keep them safe. She caught them with a confused expression, but I just grinned at her. When I turned around, Sophia was already backing away, seeming to realize what I was planning to do.

Corrin's attention was directed on Sophia now, looking at her with confusion as she started bursting out with laughter. He turned around too late to see me leap on him, tackling him into the dirt. But he quickly regained his senses and made a move to pin me underneath him, but I screamed, "Don't you dare ruin this dress! Sophia bought it for me!"

The outcry made him falter and I regained control. The tussle had messed both of us up a little, but it wasn't irreparable. Frowning, I straddled his stomach and hissed at him, "What the hell was that for? Sticking a sign on my back – isn't that a tad immature?" He shrugged in response and I rolled my eyes at him before climbing off.

"Watch your back," I told him in a singsong voice. "I'm going to get you when you least expect it." Already, plans filled my head, mainly consisting for some odd reason, buckets of paint and sand.

We excused ourselves from the gathering outside and made our inside to one of the many unused bathrooms in the Cullen household. All Corrin had to do to clean up was shake the dirt out of his shaggy locks and beat the dust off his shirt. I brushed my hair clean of dirt, reapplied my lip gloss, and removed all traces of muck from my dress. A few minutes later, and we emerged good as new.

Without warning, Corrin slung me over his shoulder and started carrying me cave-man style out of the house. I yelled half-heartedly in protest, kicking his chest lightly with my bare feet and beating his back with my hands. But his didn't let me down, so I started to really squirm in his grip.

When we came outside, I cried out in pseudo-panic, "HELP! A crazy man is kidnapping me!"

Corrin's arms shifted, and I felt relieved that he was finally letting me go. However, he swept me up and was suddenly carrying me bridal style. The move was quick and it disorientated me. Before I could get my bearings and get Corrin to let me go, he threw me up in the air and yelled, "Catch!"

Being so unexpectedly thrown in the air made me squeal with surprise, an embarrassingly high-pitched noise. A pair of cold arms caught me and I sighed in relief. However, my cheeks flooded with colour and I was slightly frazzled from the entire ordeal.

"You okay?" Edward's clear voice entered my head, and I nodded absent-mindedly. I had realized that Carlisle and Esme were suddenly missing from the congregation.

When I asked where they were, Jasper replied, "They're meeting up the Denali's in the forest. I think they are trying to prepare them for you guys."

Sighing heavily, I tried to get my mind off the twisting pile of nerves squirming in my gut. Turning to Edward, I asked, "You going to let me down?"

He shifted his arms, shook his head and said, "No, I don't think so. I quite like you in my arms." My lips tugged upwards in a smile at his sweet comment, but the moment was ruined when Corrin started making gagging noises from behind me.

Sophia laughed quietly, but smacked the back of his head playfully to shut him up, however it just made him double over in laughter. I scowled at him, but as I felt something tickle my foot, my head whipped around to see what was going on. Alice smiled at me and explained, "Just putting your shoes back on, no need to fret."

As she finished strapping on the last shoe, I grinned brightly at Alice, and was about to give thanks, but everyone's attention was taken when a group of vampires headed into the opening.

There were three blonde females – the sisters, I assumed – one had strawberry blonde curls, another with pale blonde hair that was as straight as corn silk, and the last one had hair that was so blonde, the colour could have been mistaken for silver. The group was beautiful and I noted that their eyes were indeed a startling shade of honeyed gold. The way their hair sparkled in the light grabbed my attention for a moment longer and then I turned to the others in the coven.

The final female had black hair, matching the hair of the male (who I assumed was Eleazar and her mate, judging by the way she stood by his side). Their skin tone was strange; it was still pale, but they must have have darker skin as humans as their skin showed signs of a olive undertone. Sophia had this olive, tanned look about her, but it was more natural, more human – whereas their's seemed as though a film of pale white was covering their true colours.

We were all standing in the shade of the clouds, but this new arrival seemed careful to stay in the shades of the trees. Secrecy was instinctual for them, especially their habit to stay out of any possible sunlight, even when protected by cloud cover, and they didn't yet know of us; I had specifically requested to Carlisle earlier that we tell them.

My stomach jumped into my chest in anticipation. The only male of the group – he was a friend of my father! At least, I hoped he was.

Oh no – what if he didn't know that my dad – Charlie – was dead? I would need to break the news. Would I be able to do that?

There was a pause of heavy silence, where confusion and anticipation layered thick in the air. Everyone seemed to wonder who was going to start introductions. The Denali coven eyed us speculatively, intrigue obvious in their features, nearly masking the confusion that they must have felt.

The one with strawberry curls, I was fairly sure she was Tanya, as she matched the descriptions given to me, whispered in a voice lower than what a human could hear, "Edward, why are you holding that human in your arms?"

Looking down automatically, I realized that I was still in Edward's grasp, which was a rather awkward hold in present company. But he made no move to put me down.

Clearing my throat, I responded in a clear voice, "Edward's holding me because he's my stubborn boyfriend who refuses to put me down."

Their eyes widened in surprise, and Tanya gasped, "How did a human like you hear that?"

"Who said I was human?" I replied seriously.

Jumping lithely out of Edward's grasp, I straightened myself up and began the introductions, "My name is Isabella Marie Swan, but please call me Bella. My brother is called Corrin Phillip Swan and he is married to Sophia." As I said their name, I pointed them out to the quiet newcomers. Taking a deep breath, I continued, "I think you are acquainted with my father – his name was Charles Swan, but his friends called him Charlie."

Eleazar's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I casually mentioned having a vampire father.

Swallowing hard, he said in a low voice, "I think you've got a bit of explaining to do."

*******

"Your father was a good man," breathed out Eleazar, who was still reeling from all the information that we piled on him. He took the news about hybrids surprisingly well, but he kind of froze up when we told him Victoria betrayed my dad. "But to get such vindictiveness from Victoria? She and Charlie were joined at the hip for a couple of decades or so."

A growl ripped from my throat without warning when Eleazar mentioned Victoria's bond with my father. She deserved none of his companionship. My hands clenched on my lap, nails digging into my skin as I strained to keep my lips shut of all the obscenities I wished to say on the subject of Victoria.

"Sorry," apologized Eleazar, noticing my reaction. I notice in the corner of my eye that the Cullen boys, who were previously engaged in conversation with the Denali sisters, suddenly stopped to look at me with concern.

"Don't be," I replied briskly. "She got what she deserved." A flash of a memory went through my mind, sudden bursts of varying reds and white, and glimpses of the incident.

"What do you mean?" Carmen, Eleazar's mate, inquired with interest. She tucked some stray hair behind her ear and her golden eyes gleamed with a softness that somehow made me feel very warm towards her. But this topic was enough to quickly ice my demeanor over.

Without pity, shame or remorse, I informed them in a hard voice, "I killed her. Oh, and her mate." I add that last bit on as an after thought, my tone suggesting as if it was no big thing. But it was a big deal to me. However, I did not want to show it.

Their eyes displayed shock, but before I could say anything else, the couch I was sitting on, disappeared from beneath me and I was lifted into the air by two strong arms. Turning and squirming in his grasp, I saw it was none other than Emmett who was squeezing me around the stomach.

"Ahh," he bellowed jovially, "Don't be scared of Bella! She quite nice when you don't provoke her." His tone was joking, and as if to re-enforce his point, he spun me around, drawing out a squeal of joy from me. The room spun and I saw the gleeful eyes of my siblings, the amused eyes of my boyfriend and the surprised glances of everyone else spin around me, colours beginning to blur and things appearing as if they have no start or end.

"Emmett, stop manhandling me! Let me go," I demanded in a playful tone, struggling with a little more force now. "What is up with you boys and picking me up? Is is because I'm small?" I complained loudly, still trying to remove myself from his grip.

"Nah," explained Emmett. "It's because you're warm and squishy."

"Are you calling me fat?" I hiss, making my eyes narrow and my body freeze in what appeared to be anger, but he didn't seem to notice the teasing glint in my eye because he began to panic.

"Err, no. You're really skinny. But not in a bad way. In a model way. No, that's no good either. You're bigger than them. Wait, that didn't sound good either," he rambled nervously. I shut him up by clamping my hand over his mouth and saying, "It's okay, Emmett. Calm down."

Giving him a light peck on the cheek, I managed to surprise him enough that he loosened his grip on me, giving me room to drop down gracefully. I hear Edward's laugh before I feel his arms wrap around my stomach. He kisses the top of my head and a blush rose to my cheeks before I sighed in contentment.

Whipping my hand out, pointing suddenly at Corrin, I warn, "Not one word, Corrin, not one word about this moment. I dare you try ruin it."

"What?" cried out Corrin defensively. "I didn't say anything."

"I've known you since the day I was born, so I think I know whether you're going to make an annoying comment or not," I say with a laugh.

"Caught me red handed," grinned Corrin. "I was thinking of some more gagging noises and a..." When he caught sight of my glare he shut up. "Calm down. I'm happy you're happy," he said reluctantly.

"What do you have against Edward?" I ask Corrin, still unsure to what the big deal was.

"Hello? I am here, you know," pointed out Edward, his tone amused.

Placing a finger on his lips, I say, "Oh hush now." I feel his lips place a gentle kiss on my finger and my face warmed a little more in response.

Corrin mulled over the question, and he finally answered with, "He's your boyfriend; I think that's enough of an excuse." A mix of a snort and a giggle erupted from me at his ridiculous explanation.

Emmett whines, "Edward, stop hogging Bella!" He suddenly stopped complaining and a mischievous glint sparkles in his eyes. Widening his arms, as if he wanted to catch something human sized, it finally dawned on me what Emmett was suggesting.

"We are NOT playing 'Let's Catch The Hybrid'! Put me down, Edward," I stated firmly, smiling at Emmett's crestfallen expression.

"Sophia, do you want to play?" asks Corrin excitedly. "That sounds fun!" When she declined the invitation, they started squabbling over the entire situation, Corrin trying to convince her to play, whereas she didn't see the lure in it.

_Ahh, true love_, I thought sardonically. But it was true; they loved each other, but just showed affection in the oddest ways. Like laughing at the other's expense. Pranks were rife through our trio during times of boredom.

Placing me down gently, the eyes of the majority finally on someone else, Edward said quietly, "I wouldn't have down that to you, sweetheart." I raise an eyebrow in disbelief and he placed a hand over his heart and said, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Frowning, I said, "That doesn't count; you're already technically dead."

"You get the point," muttered Edward, who was now grinning in my hair, his arms wrapped around me.

Kate, a rather vivacious individual, cried out with glee, her eyes watching our sweet exchange, "The Cullen clan is all evened up in numbers now, eh? Irina, maybe it's time for you to find someone, so we can balance out."

Irina snorted ungracefully and joked, "Tanya's the succubus here. You should ask her to go man hunting."

"Hey, I resent that! I'm a succubus, not a whore," replied Tanya with a grin, flipping her blonde curls to the side, before running her long, pale fingers through them, as if she was trying to rid her hair of non-existent knots.

Rolling her eyes, Irina shrugged and said lightly, "Succubus? Whore? Same difference." Tanya took no antagonism to her comment, instead just chuckling gently.

Before anyone else could comment, Sophia cried out loudly, "Tanya? You're a succubus?"

Tanya nodded mutely, a little surprised at the outburst. Without a word, Sophia stormed out of the room and I heard the front door open before getting slammed shut. She had left the house and started running, her footfalls quickly getting out of hearing range.

Wide eyed, I look over at Corrin who seemed to automatically understand why Sophia was so upset. "Laurent," was the only thing he said to me as explanation before pursuing her. I groaned as I watched them leave, wanting to pursue, but knowing Corrin would need some alone time first.

Sighing, I realized that the connection to her father – the fact that succubus eventually led to the creation of incubus – would have been enough to push Sophia over the edge. She was still incredibly touchy over the situation, and I didn't blame her in the slightest.

The Denali clan was gazing upon with me with curious eyes, searching for answers, or at least an explanation for what just happened. Shaking my head, I tried to explain, "It's sort of a private family issue, but please believe me when I say it isn't personal to you guys." They nodded in affirmation, but still looked a little unsettled.

Trying to divert the subject, I turned to Eleazar and asked, "So, where and when did you and my dad meet?"

He started to recite some memories with a nostalgic air, a sparkle in his eyes as he waved his arms around in an attempt to demonstrate feelings and impressions, "Ahh, it was the summer of 1725, a beautiful morning, the birds singing and the sky cloudy, perfect for an outside stroll…"

"Where were you?" I interrupted with unsuppressed interest.

"I was holidaying in the beautiful vineyards of France. It was a shame I could not drink wine, for it was said to be very good, especially in that country, but I enjoyed the scenery nonetheless. I met your father when I passed a lake. He was fishing, which puzzled me so, watching a vampire fish.

"When I inquired to why he was doing what he was doing, he articulated in the most eloquent way of the benefits of fishing. His little rant surprised me so, I could not help but laugh, but Charlie took that in all good humor, and from that, an amazing friendship formed."

"Dad loved fishing," commented Corrin, who was making his way into the room once again, a subdued Sophia tucked into his side. "I remember when I once said it was stupid. He pretended for a good hour or so to mourn the fact that his only son was too ignorant to see the beauty in fishing. Mom and Renee eventually got him to shut up, but he still tried to persuade me on the qualities of the hobby. Regardless of his efforts, I never did take to the sport. It's all too quiet for my liking."

"Ha," I snort loudly. "You didn't like it because you never caught anything! I remember that, you were so frustrated with the fish you ended up throwing a fit and snapping the rods."

Eleazar laughed, while Corrin scowled, but he then said, "Ahh, I can sympathize with you – I never caught anything either. Charlie was the only one who could stand without scaring away the fish."

"Harrumph," murmured Corrin, a slight tinge of red making its way onto his cheeks, the only sign of his embarrassment.

"Can you tell us some more?" I ask with renewed vigor, ecstatic that there was someone out there who connected to our father, enabling us, in a small way, to reconnect with our lost father.

Nodding in assent, Eleazar started to tell us an amusing tale, in which he and my father found trouble with the local police, somehow finding their way into prison. Their escape story was regaled with flamboyant expressions and much hand movements.

The tears that ran down my face were a mix of joy and sadness. My laugher made it seem as though all my tears were wept from the happiness the stories brought, but when my eyes connected with my brother, I knew he saw right through me because his eyes mirrored mine.

A mourning pain shone through for our parent's death, although long ago, was still fresh in our minds. But neither of us tried to stop Eleazar from telling of Charlie. It was a connection, however small, that we did not yet wish to break.

*******

An assortment of emotions welled within me as I heard the numerous stories of my father and Eleazar's relationship. The trouble they got into! I knew mischief was hereditary, I've been telling Corrin that for years. But when he was raising us, our dad was always so responsible – I guess that's what happens when you became a parent.

Excusing myself, feeling the bitter tears well up in the corners of my eye, I removed myself from the room, wanting a little privacy. Corrin and Edward looked as though they wanted to accompany me, but I assured them I would be fine on my own.

Making sure that my shield still extended to protect Sophia and Corrin, I wandered into the forest, but keeping sure all the while that I stopped when I was out of hearing range. The pull of my shield was a little tight now, but it was worth the privacy.

Once alone in the forest, high up in a tree, which was a taxing climb in heels, I finally had space to freely weep. As hard as I tried to stay objective, I could not help but feel the sharp stab of jealousy run through my soul as I hear Eleazar talk of my father. Two years and several months was all the time I had with my father. Victoria and the Volturi made sure of that.

Yet here was this man, who easily had several decades to revel in his company, to listen to his jokes and find peace in his friendship. Where was the justice in that?

Though I had been taught envy was like a poison to the soul, I allowed myself a few brief moments to dwell on the thoughts, cursing the fact that my time with my father was drastically shortened.

My hateful musings – hateful to whom, I was unsure of – were cut short as a strange buzzing filled my ears, and I realized that my phone was going off. Picking up the mobile, I clicked a button and said indifferently, "Hello?"

"Bella, help!" Panting filled the phone, and the whooshing sounds of winds caused by rapid speed made up the background noise of the caller. "They're coming after me!" More panting, and I hear loud voices shouting, but their meanings masked by the sound of the rushing gale.

"Before I die, I want you to know, Bella, that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done all that to you. You are a better sister than anyone can ask for, and I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you," apologized a breathy voice, rushed in their haste to escape … something, or someone.

"Wait," I cry out in surprise at my sudden realization, nearly falling out of the tree, but holding on at the last minute. "Annalie, is that you?"

*******

**A/N: Oh no! Cliffhanger! - I can already imagine the complaints! But I love the thrill of the unknown, and come on; I bet you do too. :-) But please, send funny threats if you will. I love hearing *ahem* motivations.**

**(By the way, it IS actually Annalie this time).**

**Speculations, anybody? Who thinks they know what's happening, or about to happen? I love theories, send them in! *Thumbs up*.**

**Jokes = Deleted Scene!**

**Reviewers who leave me a funny joke will actually get a snippet of the stories Eleazar tells Bella about Charlie. Is that not incentive enough to drop me a line? Yes, I am not above bribery. Sue me. There is not enough laughter in the world, so I'm going to get some people to conjure some up for me. Laughing is the best present I could get!**

**Anyhoozle, cookies for reading. **


	16. My Apologies

**__****Chapter Unedited - therefore subject to change.**

**A/N: Oh woe befall me, for leaving all of thee, on such a terrible cliffee! *Giggles*. I'm high on ****life – don't burst my bubble.**

**Sorry for the major delay; Word crashed, then my computer crashed, and then we got a virus. I think the world hates me. But up and running and here we go!**

**This chapter is full of "WTF" moments, so just a heads up on that. Without further ado, read on, my minions!**

**Disclaimer: Actually, I want it known that this plot – removing Twilight related stuff – is mine. Copy it and I will hunt you down and give you very scary PM's. But yeah, I don't own Twilight.**

*******

**BPOV**

"Bella," gasped out what I finally recognized to be Annalie. "Don't hang up!" Her words started to rush now, as if she really was fearing the connection failing. "Before I die, I want you to know I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never ever should have blamed you for our parent's murder, or the murder of Sandra. There's nothing I can say to truly show remorse, but please know I am sorry. Forgive me; I was not in my right mind when I did everything. I am so sorry."

Tears welled in my eyes as Annalie relinquished me of a burden I didn't know that I was holding – she didn't blame me anymore. As though a weight had been lifted from my heart, I felt oddly freed. But then the sweet moment was broken when I caught onto something Annalie said.

"Wait," I choke out suddenly, my voice thick with emotion. "Annalie, you said 'before you die'. Are you in trouble?" My pitch raised rapidly near the end of my sentence, fear starting to flow like chipped ice through my veins.

"Don't worry about me!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "Just know I love you and Corrin; tell him that I love him too, won't you? And that I'm sorry to him as well because –"

Cutting her rambling short, I inserted in a panicked voice, "Annalie, what's going on? Do said before you need help? Where are you?"

"Just ignore when I asked for help, it was a brief moment of weakness," protested Annalie quickly. I remembered this well; hearing Annalie's voice, no matter what her emotion, was sometimes a little disorientating as she sounded almost like I did. And right now her voice sounded as though she was fleeing from death. My heart race quickly sped up and I started to scream, "Annalie, let me help you! Where are you?"

Through the speaker, I heard another voice filter through, a smooth male's voice, speaking Italian, "_Run little girl, run all you want, you can't hide!_" Annalie's panicked yelp made me flinch and grab at the branch I was sitting on that much tighter.

Then it hit me. Why Annalie feared for her life – there was only one other way, apart from me, that her life could be put in danger. It also explained the string of Italian flowing through the phone.

She was running from the Volturi.

"Annalie, I got it, you're in Italy!" I cried out, my panic and angst getting worse. "The Volturi are after you, are they?"

"Don't come here!" screeched Annalie loudly, her voice shrill with worry. "Bella, don't! The red eyes, don't trust the red eyes. If you see anyone you love with red eyes, kill them!" She rattled all this off at an increased pace. "Burn the red eyes! It's just bait!"

"_Come on little girl, we won't kill you straightaway!_" hissed the voice of the Italian pursuer, his voice faint as he was tracking my sister. My eyes narrowed at his implied threat.

"What are you saying?" I said referring to the last thing Annalie said, my voice heavy with confusion and worry lacing my tone, my emotions breaking down my control. I could feel myself being swept away in the tide of feelings, getting lost at sea, not really in control of myself anymore.

"Beware of the ice room, the air is paralyzing, a jail nearly impossible to escape from! Keep your inner fire alive!" yelled Annalie suddenly, as if she just remembered. The Italian cursing and yelling in the background was getting louder, and I knew Annalie was seconds from capture ... or death.

"Bella, know that I love you," she whispered, her voice quiet but heartbreakingly sincere. "Know that I love you and I'm so sorry for all the things I've done." The male yells that were following her had grown louder. "I wish I could explain everything, but there's no more time."

"Annalie, I love you, too," I sobbed, suddenly feeling the heavy flow of tears coming from my eyes. "I'm coming for you!" She was my sister and I would find her and protect her. Smoke was coming from underneath my hands and I recoiled, seeing that my control was slipping, and I was close to setting the branch on fire.

"Don't," was the final word she murmured before the line went dead. The dial tone was blaring in my ear, but I couldn't yet find it within me to put down the phone.

A wave of cold nausea swept over me. My world suddenly seemed slower, duller. Hiccups mixed with tears were being ripped from my frame with growing speed. Shakes were moving my entire body, and I noticed belatedly that the tree I was resting on was shaking too.

Time sped up at a sickening pace when my mind finally caught up to everything. When the idea passed through my mind, my breath caught and time suddenly stood still. Like everything in the world was giving me a moment to process things.

Annalie was in the grasp of the Volturi, death nearing her with every passing second.

Jumping from the tree, ignoring the snapping noise of my heels, carelessly pulling them off my feet and flinging them away, I ran towards the house, screaming for Corrin at the top of my lungs.

I had to help my fraternal twin, no matter what the cost.

*******

**EPOV**

Bella had just left the room, overcome by Eleazar's stories. Though I wanted to follow and help her, I knew that time alone was what she needed.

Corrin turned to Eleazar and turned the conversation to abilities. They were talking in depth about how their abilities differed. When Eleazar could see both humans and vampires abilities, Corrin could only see vampires or hybrids. Eleazar explained that he instinctively knew the ability in his mind and instincts, whereas Corrin knew abilities from "feeling the certain glows of people". I didn't really understand, but Eleazar seemed to bond with a certain kinship with him.

Sophia was talking animatedly to Carmen and Kate, but was a little reserved with Irina, excluding Tanya altogether. With great amusement, the four girls were swapping stories like they've known each other for years, instead of hours.

Alice and Jasper were quietly entangled in each other's company, Alice strangely occupied, her mind skipping from subject to subject, her thoughts blurry with confusion. Jasper was worried that Alice was worried, but as he said nothing on it, I assumed they had already talked on the subject.

Rosalie was talking politely with Tanya, Emmett by her side, but I knew Rosalie never really clicked well with Tanya, their interests lying in different areas, too different to truly bond. Oh yes, they had beauty in common, but that was the extent of their similarities.

I was engaged in light conversation with Esme and Carlisle when the door burst open, revealing an extremely distraught Bella. Because I thought time alone would do her good, I let her go. But when she came back screaming and crying, I knew that time alone did her no good at all.

Her eyes were red with tears, her face splotchy and her brow furrowed in worry. Something else was off with her, and it took me a moment to realize that her heartbeats were frighteningly erratic, panicky almost with their speed and irregular pumps. Usually the picture of calm, her movements were now jerky, quick and sudden, as though she did not have full control over them.

Dozens of words were tumbling from her as she tried to explain something to Corrin, but I knew that none of us understood was she was saying. In panic, (or was it fear?), her words had sped up until they blended together, losing much of their meaning.

My eyes widened as I saw the first signs of smoke coming from her fingertips – she was losing control. And Bella out of control – as much as I loved her – was still something to fear. Bella lost control with Victoria and that was not a pretty sight. Whatever set her off must have been horrific, and I suddenly felt a sharp stab in my gut, the twisting pull of panic, before it was dampened by Jasper's influence.

Corrin was suddenly surrounded by an air of authority and he firmly clamped his hands over her shoulders, and said loudly, but calmly, "Bella, breathe. Count to ten, plan what you need to say, and then tell us."

His words had a profound effect on her, I thought as I watched her entire frame slump and her eyes shut. Now that she was silent and her arms had stopped flailing around, I could see the tremors wracking her body. My eyes darted down and I noticed that her shoes were gone, and it was yet another mystery added to my stack of questions.

Tanya and Kate eyed me with questioning looks, while Irina just looked at Bella with curiosity. Eleazar was instinctively standing before his mate, Carmen, as if Bella's presence suddenly brought along with it a sense of danger. Which, admittedly, it did.

Carlisle had his arms wrapped around Esme, who was looking worried at Bella's action. Rosalie was watching her warily; Emmett feeling protective, his eyes darting out to check outside the window ever few seconds; sure there was some kind of threat.

Jasper had tried calming her down, but his efforts were futile, as usual. Alice seemed resigned – which was odd, considering she had lost most of her sight due to Bella's presence, so she could not be sure of anything really, could she?

Sophia was whispering soothing words, though unsure on what upset Bella; she was still trying to calm her down enough to tell us. Finally, Bella straightened up, wiped away her tears and told us in a dead voice, "I need to go to Italy. The Volturi have Annalie."

*******

**BPOV**

_They didn't understand!_ Even though I had explained everything to them, they continued to make excuses for me not to go. I was not a weak human! I bent fire to my will on a weekly basis, I was able to snap huge oak trees in half as if they were toothpicks and if I so wished, I could crumble a boulder to dust.

Funnily enough, it was not my brother or sister-in-law that was arguing against me, but it was mainly Edward.

"It's not a trap!" I screamed, my anger finally winning over all my other emotions, the fury of being ignored bubbling up to the surface. "In twelve decades, she has never once made a move to apologize. She would never apologize in the hope to ambush me. Her pride is above that. Annalie is in trouble and she needs me!"

Slamming my fist on the table, making it creak under the pressure I was exerting, I snarled, "Alone or not, I will still go to Italy, you can't stop me!"

"Damned if I can't!" roared Edward. He was strongly against me going, and to an extent, I acknowledged that he would want me safe, but trying to keep me from protecting family? Ridiculous. Annalie needed me; who knew what pain she was going through? I could only hope she was alive – the tracker's voice promised that death was not immediate.

Then again, if she was being tortured, death might be preferable to her.

Edward stared at me with a growing desperation, but the ticking of the clock in the corner, suddenly extra loud to me, reminded me that as time passed, so was Annalie's chance of survival.

"You don't control me, Edward," I state finally, my voice low and dangerous.

"I never said I did," replied Edward, his tone reverting to an icy cold formality. "But to pursue such a cause is utter madness; surely it is a suicidal trip! There is no way I can let you go."

"'Let me go'?" I growl, a rumble building in my chest. "Who gave you the rights to my freedom, hmm? Where are the shackles binding me to your commands? I am a free woman, not some weakling Mary-Sue, eager to do your bidding without thought or question!"

Jasper tried to intervene and cool off the argument, "Ladies and gentlemen, please take a step back and let's talk this though, _calmly_, like the civilized folk we are, alright?"

Throwing my hands up into the air, I cry out, "I've talked and talked. An hour has passed where we've been talking. But you can't seem to accept that I am willing to gamble my life to save my sister. Do you not have family bonds? Surely you can understand –"

Edward instantly cut me off by snarling, "– But our siblings don't try to murder us in the middle of the night. So I think our situations are different."

The sound of a slap resounded in the room. Edward stared at me in shock. My hand was still tingling from hitting him. An eerie silence befell the group.

"Don't you dare go there. Don't you dare. Annalie was confused and lonely. How dare you," I snap, my arms shaking from the anger I was trying to keep down.

My mind was befuddled, parts of it analyzing what I knew of Italy and how I could save Annalie, other parts of it focused on this conversation, and small sections focused on the most random things. It was hard to think clearly, but I knew I did not regret the slap. Edward went out of line.

"You know what," I laugh mirthlessly. "You told me that you've always wanted to hear my thoughts? Here you go." I opened my shields and started thinking of the phone call, the utter agony I felt when I heard it. This felt like the only way to get my point across.

When I opened my eyes, which I had closed to concentrate better with, I saw Jasper doubled over, probably reeling from the added emotions of me and my family. Edward seemed – if possible – paler, and his irises were darkened. They were silent and unnaturally still, but I did not need to hear them to know that at least, these two, now understood to an extent of why I needed to go.

"Sorry, Jasper," I apologized quietly, feeling a little sorry for not warning him.

Sighing with frustration, I closed myself up again, once more barring my body and my mind. Automatically, I covered my brother and sister-in-law with this barrier again, but I barely concentrated on that. The ticking of the clock was getting to me again.

_Tick._ One second closer to death.

_Tick._ Another second of torture.

_Tick. _An additional moment of pain.

_Tick. _A second wasted.

_Tick._ Time was running out.

An hourglass popped into my head, clear as if I was seeing it right in front of me. The sand was trickling away rapidly, falling to the bottom faster than the pull of gravity, seemingly ignorant to my troubles, filling the bottom half, each extra centimeter equaling death's advances to my sister's life.

Corrin, who was uncharacteristically quiet throughout my entire explanation and argument, told me, "Bella, don't worry about being alone in Italy. I'm coming with you and –"

"– I'm going as well," finished Sophia, her eyes serious and trained on me. "Don't think we're just going to abandon you." A watery smile broke though my hard expression and I couldn't seem to find the words to convey how much I appreciated this.

"Anyway, you suck at reading maps," joked Corrin, his voice hiding most of the strain he was surely feeling. "I don't want to have to worry about you getting lost, now do I?"

A loud bang made us all jump, and I saw the end of Edward's shirt whip pass a door as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door like a child annoyed that he didn't get his way. Carlisle ran after him, I would guess to try talk sense into him.

As much as I cared for Edward, a feeling bordering love, possibly even crossing the line at times, I needed to do this. How would I be able to live with myself, knowing that I didn't go after Annalie? How could I look at myself in the mirror everyday if I abandoned her?

Alice sidled beside me and murmured quietly into my ear, slipping something into my hand, "Here are your tickets to Italy. I'm going to talk some sense into my brother." She walked off without another word and I stared in wonder at the tickets – the plane left in two and a half hours.

For once, I appreciated her meddling ways; this saved us a lot of time.

"Let's go," I said to Corrin and Sophia, carefully avoiding the eyes of everyone else. We would have to make a pit stop home so that I could change into more appropriate fireproof attire, and then we would go straight to the airport.

Emmett stood forth and exclaimed loudly, "I'm going too. I have to protect my new wrestling partner."

"Sorry, Emmett," I say honestly. "You don't have enough ties to me without looking suspicious. If Edward went, which I now doubt immensely, it would be reasonable because he's my boyfriend. Sophia and Corrin are family, which is an automatic yes. But if you go, it might unleash the wrath onto your entire coven if we are caught." His face fell, but he argued no further.

Vaguely, I heard Corrin apologizing to the Denali's for cutting our time short, but they immediately understood our family situation and handled it with more grace than Edward did. But then again, Edward cared for me more than anyone else, and I had to admit that this journey would put me in an unreasonable amount of danger.

Pushing the thought from my mind, I attempted to focus.

_At least I'll get to see a little bit of Italy. I heard it's beautiful there_, I think sadly, trying to remain optimistic, but failing miserably. Sophia, as if feeling my pain, grabbed onto my hand, squeezing it tightly. Although I could tell she still had her reservations on Annalie, she trusted my word wholeheartedly and would die for me. Not that I would let that happen.

The Volturi would not take another member of my family away.

*******

I was hurrying through my wardrobe, trying to get my sturdiest, strongest clothes. Downstairs, I heard random noises, signs that Corrin and Sophia were getting things ready.

The story for our leaving was already formulated. Alice would tell Angela and anyone else who inquired, that my faked illness that I "had" this morning was actually a severe virus that deteriorated my condition, and that I had to be shipped to a special hospital far away, and that Corrin and Sophia obviously went with me, being family.

It was a dodgy lie, but it would have to do for now, no time for more elaborate measures. In a way it was ideal – we could go as long as needed, no time restraints to save Annalie, except the clock kept ticking, each second as though it was calling the footsteps of an ascending executioner. Hopefully, Angela wouldn't be too worried about my "virus". But I knew deep down, that being the caring person she was, my news would worry her to no end.

As I finished dressing, and had just put my hair up in a messy bun, there was a knock on my door. I made some noise of assent for them to enter, busily looking around for the wad of cash I kept in my drawers for emergencies like this. I had wads of money in a variety of currencies; just in case. This time being overcautious paid off.

Turning around, grasping a stack of American dollars and a collection of Euros, I turned around to see Edward enter my room, a stony expression on his face.

Huffing defensively, I said, "If you're trying to convince me to stay, it won't work."

"I'm not going to stop you," Edward said calmly. "I'm coming with you." If he had any reaction to my jaw dropping, then he didn't show it. He waited patiently for me to accumulate to the idea.

"Why?" I managed to choke out after some time.

Finally his face showed some emotion, the main one being distress. He crossed the room in three strides and held me tightly in his arms, as though I would disappear at any moment. The money I held in my hand dropped to the floor with a muffled thud, but we both ignored it.

Whispering in my ear, he told me in a heavy voice, "Bella, can't you tell the reason why I worry about you so much? Why I am following you to Italy on this suicidal mission?"

Shaking my head in dissent, Edward growled in frustration before burying his nose in my neck and muttering quietly, but affectionately, "It's because I'm in love with you."

And like that, with those few words, my world stopped and for a split second my entire being warmed with something unknown from head to toe. A strange fluttering replaced the panicked beats of my heart and for some reason, all my senses went into hyper drive, and I became super aware of everything.

The near quiet rustle of the curtain sliding over the wall as the light breeze outside blew through the window; the harmonious birdsong that chirped brightly, the volume fading and rising depending on the strength of the winds; my pulse beating away, strong as ever, underneath my skin; all the faint cracks in the paint of the windowsill seem to light up, the shadows fading as my world brightens with a light I never knew existed.

My chest tightened briefly, before it relaxed and everything was at peace. My eyes and hand land on Edward's face, his peaceful, warm expression marred slightly by the insecurity flowing through his beautiful amber eyes, fresh from his hunt the day before.

Before I could help myself, I heard myself saying in just as low a voice, "I love you, too."

Previously, I had struggled with the idea of love, unsure if it was really what I felt. But as I said it, the truth behind my words filled me, flooding my veins with a feeling that I was sure that I was now addicted to. And I didn't know if I was ever going to stop this craving I suddenly had for the drug that was Edward's love.

My announcement was like opening the floodgates, the water breaking the barriers, rushing through to the offered freedom, unable to be taken back. There was a swelling feeling of concentrated warmth in my stomach, and with those four words, the thin lining holding it all in broke, and the feelings were rushing around me, uncontrolled and wild, but oddly soothing.

Chuckling, he pulled back to look at my face, grasping the sides of my face in his cold hands, running his thumbs over my cheeks over and over again. The grin that painted his face was so wide I was surprised it didn't split his face; but he looked radiant with joy at my admission.

Sighing, he confessed with a tinge of embarrassment in his voice, "I didn't want you to leave without knowing, even if I am coming along with you for the trip." Whether intentional or not, I heard the underlying message: he thought we weren't going to survive the trip. But what could I even say to make him stop thinking that?

"I had this elaborate way of telling you all planned out," he continued explaining, "but when I accepted you were going away, to Italy, no less, I couldn't help but think, '_There's no time like the present_.'"

"I like that saying," I mused teasingly into his chest.

"Where does this leave us? 'Girlfriend' doesn't seem to be enough to describe what you are to me," he murmured sweetly, quietly, a gentle sigh at the end of his sentence. Fanning across my face, his breath, cold and sweet, made me inhale deeply, before exhaling to think clearly.

"'Boyfriend' doesn't seem to cut it for you much anymore, too," I agreed sluggishly, still overwhelmed by the emotional outpouring from moments before. Pausing, I cocked my head to the side and said, "How about 'soul mates'?"

"Perfect," he said into my hair, his voice suddenly peaceful, but still as quiet as a faint breath of wind. For a moment, a frozen minute in time, we just stood there and basked in the company of the other, but a bird's cry from outside snapped me out from my love induced stupor and I stumbled apart from Edward.

As explanation, I say shortly, "Annalie needs me." He nodded with a tight-lipped expression, and I suddenly think back to when he said that this trip was a "suicidal mission".

My stomach flipped at the idea, but I thought about it no more after that.

*******

Finally we had made it up into the air. Damn airports and their restrictions. We had to wait an hour before making it past security, night already surrounding the plane, the darkness like a blanket covering the sky, decorated with stars to faintly illuminate the world below.

I was watching the earth fly away from us, growing smaller and smaller at an alarming speed, people and objects becoming the size of small print on books. Though I knew that this was all easily explained as an illusion of distance and viewpoint, it was hard to stop the gasp I made at the utter incredulity of everything on the ground being so small.

It was amazing to fly, especially when remembering with clarity the times when the motorized vehicle was something of the future. When men, women and children alike fawned over the arrival of their new black and white 12 inch television. There was no trouble pulling up images of early computers, their size and speed a horror in comparison to the technologies of this day and age. The magic of flying was often undervalued, but I could remember what it took to get here.

No matter how many times I traveled in the air, I would not be able to overcome the leaping jumps my stomach made in joyful response to the flight.

But today, much stomach – although still mildly enthusiastic – seemed to be subdued, realizing that this trip was not one for fanfare or celebration.

This trip to Italy was building up my nerves, making the food taste duller as time wore on, the lights shining seemingly too bright in contrast with my mood, also making me increasingly fidgety, as if I was preparing for a fight.

My finger constantly seemed to be rubbing the fabric of the seats, feeling the individual threads in the intricate, repetitive pattern of the cloth, durable still, even after all these years of being worn down by so many passengers.

Planes, though faster than running, and were quite exhilarating, were not always great. Like on extended flights such as this one, the proximity with humans was sometimes overwhelming. It was not always their blood that aggravated us; sometimes it was the loud bawling of children, or the various odors that became magnified in the recycled atmosphere.

Being a mind reader and a vampire, I knew Edward would have it harder than the rest of us with this. But he had assured me several times that he was doing fine, but I knew he was uncomfortable.

Edward was next to me, holding my hand and rubbing soothing circles in the back of it using his cold thumb. Tearing my gaze from the majesty of the clouds passing my window, I smiled at him, trying to convey my happiness at his presence with my expression. My eyes slowly traced his features, his strong jaw line, his straight nose, and his swirling golden eyes – the color so fierce, matched with his expression, and reminded me of the intensity of black hole, sucking everything into their immeasurable depths.

Except his eyes were bright, like the light of the sun. Golden rays that burned with its very touch, eradicating everything in its path. You couldn't look at them without being captured by its unworldly beauty, yet to look away seemed folly, even to save yourself from being burned.

Without thought, as if it were a knee jerk reaction, my hand raised to touch his pale cheek. I could not help but compare the way his white sheet of a skin color contrasted to the flushed glow of my own, it's white not so extreme as to match a snowflake, instead seeming to bask in a faint tan that made me seem so mortal.

Quicker than he should have, Edward covered my hand with his other free hand, the cold now enveloping my entire hand, but I didn't mind the temperature in the slightest. Closing his eyes, lips tugged upwards slightly, I couldn't stop myself from thinking, _Was he saying goodbye now, in his own way, in the case we don't make it back?_

Strangely, the thought just made me want to pull him from the prying eyes of these strangers and pull him by the collar to say goodbye properly. The wave of possessiveness that flooded me made me feel uncomfortable, but oddly proud.

I guess that this was love.

The spell of the moment was broken when Corrin – who was sitting two rows in front, and three across from us, next to Sophia – started coughing with mild vigor. For a second, I wondered what he was doing, but then I realized he was coughing to cover the words, "Get a room." He must have seen Edward and me staring at each other, probably getting all googly-eyed at one another.

Though the gaps in the chairs, I saw Sophia clamping a hand over his mouth, shushing him with a smile. Now they were the ones staring at each other with googly eyes. That was hypocritical of Corrin, I thought with mild amusement mixed with irritation.

Frowning at his interruption, I pulled a cube of ice from the iced tea that was resting on my tray, and placed in on my palm. Making sure no one, apart from Edward, was looking my way, I used a deft flick of my finger to propel the block of frozen water across the seats, my aim straight and true, the ice cube hitting Corrin's neck, sliding right down beneath the collar.

Jumping up from shock, he at least had enough self-control not to yell loudly in response, as many of the passengers were resting. With frantic movements, he pulled out the ice cube, watching it melt quickly into a small puddle of water in his palm with narrowed eyes. His head whipped around and his suspicious brown eyes met my overly innocent cherubic expression. I was sure that it was Edward's gentle chuckling that gave my ploy away.

Corrin slid back into his seat with a near silent huff, but not before Sophia took advantage of his turned back to give me a reassuring thumbs up. Whether it was for the ice cube prank or for what lay ahead of me, I wasn't sure.

"Sleep, my Bella," breathed Edward into my ear, his voice reassuring and soothing. The possessive in his sentence didn't escape my attention, but I was too tired to give it much thought.

Nodding, I barely restrained a yawn before I slumped onto his shoulder. With his melodic voice humming a soft, gentle tune, one that I could not help but think I've heard before, resembling a perfect lullaby, and with his cold, strong arms wrapped around my tiny frame, it was not hard at all to fall asleep.

A pang of guilt briefly flowed through me as I realized that I was sleeping when Annalie could be dying, but there was nothing I could do. Running was slower and more tedious than a plane, and panicking would harm me more than it would do good. So, for a few hours at least, I would try to relax.

The last thing I felt before my eyes shut closed were the nimble fingers of my soul mate running through my hair.

My final thoughts were not of Italy, or the fight that was surely facing us, but of the way I used the "soul mate" in my mind. It just felt _right_.

And with that thought coursing through my mind, I slept with a gentle grin on my face.

*******

What woke me was the gentle nudging of Edward, who revived me from my slumber as breakfast was being passed out. Checking the wristwatch strapped to Edward, my eyes widened in surprise at the amount of sleep I got.

And not only that, but considering the day I had, I was a little surprised that I didn't have nightmares from my sister being imprisoned or possibly relapses of my parent's murder.

I guess it was Edward's soothing company that kept me sane, for tonight at least.

Digging into my meal eagerly, Edward motioned that his meal was mine too, but I shook my head, suddenly feeling bloated as memories soared back into my mind of the phone call. Rubbing my face in my hands, as if that could wash away the dregs of sleep still clutching at me, Edward asked, "What did you dream about?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, my voice still drowsy from sleep. "Thankfully I saw absolutely nothing."

"Fearing another nightmare?" Edward inquired gently. I nodded but said no more.

Slowly, as though gauging my reaction, he questioned, "Do you actually dream, or only face the world of darkness or nightmares?"

Tilting my head, I answered quietly for fear of being overheard, "Yes, I have nice dreams. But they are few and far in-between compared to the amount of nightmares I've had."

"If you could, would you pass off those nice dreams if you could get rid of the nightmares?" Edward asked, while tracing patterns on my hand.

"The concept is tempting, but no. Sometimes I dream about my happy memories, and I don't think I would be able to let go of that. Usually it is too hard to think about it often in my waking hours, but in my sleep, when I have nice dreams, I can see my mom and dad," I admitted in a whisper.

Deftly trying to remove all the attention off me, I turned to Edward and said, "What about you? Don't you miss dreams and sleep?"

Laughing silently, Edward mumbled in my ear gently, "I don't miss dreams because I know that if I could, I would dream about you." I could feel, rather than see, two hot spots growing on my cheeks in response. He was just too sweet.

Unfortunately, Corrin started whispering in a voice lower than any human could hope to hear, where he relayed the message, "Cullen, if you had a wet dream about my sister, I would kill you; so be happy you can't sleep." Edward just grinned slightly and shook his head in response, but I was pissed.

Scowling openly at my brother, I pulled out a brochure from the front pocket of the seat, and wadded it up until it resembled a multi-colored pulp. Remembering what I did last time, Corrin had slouched in his chair, but he was too tall, making just the tip of his head poke out at me.

With curious eyes, Edward watched as I damped the pulp with some water from the melted ice in my glass. Rolling the mashed paper in my hand, I shaped it to resemble a squashed ball. My attentions were making the ball a little sticky, and I knew it was time. When all eyes were directed elsewhere, I quickly threw the ball and hit Corrin smack back in the head, the sticky ball grasping onto his head, gluing itself into his hair.

Corrin froze in his seat on impact, and Edward had to clamp his hand over my mouth to stop the laughter coming out from me. Part of it was humorous laughter, but a lot of it was nervous laughter, as if the pit of anticipation within me was trying to relieve some tension.

Because he started it, he could not retaliate, but he did turn around to glare at me angrily, but I saw the spark of amusement in his eyes. After several seconds of intense staring, he eventually turned to Sophia to get help in removing the mess.

Rubbing my eyes, I pulled up the cover on the window that Edward had closed when I slept, and gasped at the billowing clouds and the sun watching us pass them by. My eyes were reluctantly drawn away from the swirling masses of floating water particles to the rolling, lush green valleys beneath the plane. I thought that I saw a few sheep but some clouds quickly swallowed up the scene again.

Turning to Edward, wanting to show him the beauty of the outside world, but saw him talking to a stewardess, asking for a bottle of wine. She walked off to fetch the drink, a little dazed, but other than that, there was no show of incompetence on her part. The girl neither flirted nor acted disrespectfully towards Edward, which I thought was a good sign of the airline; I made a mental note to flight on this airline from now on.

"Wait," I said, grabbing Edward's arm, suddenly realizing something. "You don't drink _wine_," I emphasized the word before continuing, "And we're both too young to drink ... or at least that's what our passports say," I added in an undertone.

"Ahh, well, that's the upside to being in a first class seat with a charming smile," replied Edward, flashing me a dazzling grin.

In mock horror, I gasped and lightly teased, "Edward Cullen, don't tell me you are manipulating the staff!"

At least having the dignity to look slightly abashed, he shrugged and smiled at me before admitting, "Maybe."

"Why though?" I prodded with confusion.

He smiled ruefully and told me in a worried voice, "I wanted to get you something to help you relax. I don't know if you've noticed, but your heartbeats are still erratic, and it's a bit unnerving."

Shaking my head, I informed him, "Alcohol's a no-no with me. Doesn't work 'cause my system breaks it down too quickly for it to intoxicate me."

"Doesn't mean you can't enjoy a nice drink nonetheless," intoned Edward.

I just shrugged and said, "In that case, might as well have a glass or two sent to Corrin and Sophia as well."

*******

The hotel room was charming enough, a small villa that supplied a beautiful view of the rolling valleys I saw earlier, but from a much closer distance. On any other day, in any other situation, I would be bubbling with excitement at the chance of this fairytale getaway, but today was all about making one hell of a prison break.

As Sophia did my make up, the boys talked strategy. I had to be fitted with a disguise because I looked too much like my sister, which would draw too much unwanted attention to ourselves. Though my sister and I were fraternal twins, we could pass for identical. Sophia's attentions were drastically changing me, making my skin tone darker, more tanned, but still appearing natural.

Heavier make-up than I would have liked was applied on my face. Eyeliner, eyeshadow and lipstick were put on to make me appear like one of those overzealous human girls. At least it was reasonably light, letting my skin breathe, and allowing me to move my facial features without any problems.

With mild distaste, I placed in contacts, changing my eye color to a vibrant green, but for a few minutes the covering over my irises irritated me, before I adjusted to the feeling. A pair of thick rimmed, rectangular-cut glasses, black as ebony, was deftly slipped onto my nose by Sophia. My eyes trained on the minor imperfections in the glass, but I didn't complain about it: my changes were necessary.

Sophia definitely thought in advance, for she brought along a wide array of things to prepare me. Awkwardly, my teeth were fitted with a ceramic cover to make them appear less perfect, and more humanly crooked.

Finally, Sophia dyed my hair a rich black, changing the hair to resemble a shiny ebony in color, matching my glasses. Coloring my hair was the extent of what she could do with it, unless she wanted a wig. Since she did not bring her diamond infused, re-enforced scissors, there was no way that she could cut my hair, as it was tougher than what normal scissors could slice through. At least I had an option of getting a haircut – a vampire's hair was stronger than diamonds itself. Hybrid's nails and hair were able to be cut with some materials, but grew so slowly that we rarely ever had the need to do so.

All this took about an hour, but that time was not wasted in just cosmetics. During my entire transformation, Sophia and I both listened keenly to the conversation on how to break and enter the castle, inserting comments when needed.

"Okay, I'm just going over the final plan, once more," frowned Corrin, his eyes trained on the sheets of paper in front of him – Carlisle had given Edward maps of the castle, from his days when he stayed there; they were old maps, but they were better than nothing. "So this is what we have to do..."

*******

**A/N: Italy, the Volturi and Annalie – oh my! Sorry for another cliffhanger (...not really, *laughs*).**

**Okay, the breakout chapter next. And yes, there will be fighting scenes. Booyah!**

**So... what did you think? Is Annalie for real? Or is this some devilishly elaborate plot? Hmm? Anyone got an opinion out there? Who "awwed" at the declaration of love? Didn't see that coming, now did you? I just added that teensy weeny bit of fluff to tide you over the angst. **

**Has anyone out there have stories where siblings ruined a "moment" for them? Love to hear them!**

**Please note: updates will be more infrequent, what with school and all.**

**Have some fudge for reading. Reviews are love. I, of course, am assuming you like this story if you have stuck with me this far out. Hope that's not too pretentious of me. **


	17. Planning Stages

**A/N: *Insert overly theatrical **_**Mission Impossible**_** music*. It's time for the drama to begin! *Incredibly evil laughter*.**

**Oh yeah, so this works, lets just say Carlisle knew a lot about the Volturi than he ever let on to Bella in the books...**

**Because of school, I doubt I can write chapters longer than this at the moment. I've got severe block, so instead of giving you a really long chapter in like, three months, here's a small one now. **_**Veeerry small**_**, especially compared to my normal lengths.**

**Busy busy busy bee, that's what I am at the moment. I've got to work through two assignments, three in-class essays, two double-exams, a test or two, not forgetting to mention the oral report I have due... oh, and I have camp coming up tomorrow as well. *Sigh*.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine at all. Just telling you again in the case my other disclaimers slipped your notice.**

*******

**Synopsis**: _In case you forgot what happened from me taking such a long break_:

Bella (whose a half-blooded vampire/human hybrid) just got a call from Annalie (her sister) claiming that the latter was in trouble and deduced that the Volturi was involved. Her sister-in-law, Sophia, and her half-brother, Corrin, are off to Italy to save her. Oh, and her boyfriend, Edward—now claiming term 'soul mate'—is tagging along too, as reluctant as he is to the danger. Just a normal day in the life of the Swans.

*******

**BPOV**

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the shadows. We were initiating "Part A" of the plan, and this was were we were meant to be collected. Looking up at the mild cloud cover, I smiled tightly at the fact the weather was on our side.

Corrin was by my side, smiling genially, his strong arms wrapped tightly around Sophia, his only outward indication of tension. Our acts were quite convincing – we appeared to be the perfect image of a traveling family. Sophia even had her hand tucked in the back pocket of Corrin's jeans, making them the loving couple. Although, for that, those two did not need to act much at all. They already were the loving couple. I was more stoic than the others, my anxiety stopping me from acting as well, but I pulled through.

Here where we were was the area where tourists were taken on tours to castles. And here was where, on occasion, a beautiful enchantress would come and take several dozen on a "personal" tour. Safe to say none of those people ever returned.

Yep, we were waiting a few minutes out of Volterra for a vampire to pretty much collect the take out food. To get inside the gates we would infiltrate the livestock.

Now that I think about it, the plan was too simple – something definitely had to go wrong.

It was moments like this that I hated being the pessimistic one. Thousands of possibilities ran through my mind, most of them with the outcome being horrifically bad.

The only thing that kept me grounded was the fact that Edward was waiting for me in the villa. He could not go, not because he did not want to, but because I insisted. Even though he was my mate, I could not risk his presence being seen in the case the Cullen family face the consequences of our actions. That and the fact that his entire being screamed 'vampire'.

He protested loudly against the idea of staying behind, but after I implored for him to stay here to protect his coven, he finally caved. A small part of me acknowledged that part of the reason I wanted him to stay away was so he stayed safe. I could not refuse Corrin or Sophia – they were family. However, I came up with an acceptable excuse to keep Edward at bay; I suspected that Sophia knew of what I was doing, but she said nothing on it, sparing me only one searching glance.

Since he could not be part of the action, he threw himself into the planning stages, intent on keeping all of us out of harm's way as much as possible. Carlisle's knowledge of the Volturi's inner knowledge was immense, hopefully enough to make this rescue mission as painless as possible. Edward tried to pull as much as he could to his advantage.

Edward had relayed to us what Carlisle had known about the feeding schedule. Thankfully for us, the Volturi were a rather stuffy bunch of old men, and although cunning, they were rather reserved in their habits, some of which – like the feeding ritual – going back centuries.

As my wristwatch glowed half past midday, I suddenly feared that we were wrong. They were incredibly late and I don't think that was right and –

My inner ramblings were cut off when a beautiful vampire, dressed in clothes that left little to the imagination, walked into the shadowed courtyard, eying the tourists mulling around the area with glee. Barely a minute had passed before her entrance and she had already collected a reasonable amount of humans. With a sickening jolt, my stomach plummeted when I realized that these people were facing death in a matter of minutes.

And they didn't even know it.

The idea was immediately rejected from me, being so repulsive, I didn't know what I could say or do. But one thing I knew was that I couldn't make a scene. There was no way I could free Annalie if I were led to her in chains. Metaphoric ones at least; there were no chains on earth that could hold me.

The vampire's eyes darted to us; we pretended not to notice, instead talking animatedly about some of the sights we "planned" to see. From the corner of my eye, I notice her take a deep breath in our direction. We all smelled a little like vampire because of both Edward and because of some adrenaline – not enough to create suspicion, but hopefully enough to attract certain attention...

When she waltzed her way over to us, and started sweet talking us in the hopes of getting us to join her tour, our hopes were confirmed. Edward's scent was light enough to pass by without notice, but enough to make this vampire territorial over the food.

We needed that edge to get picked, because our scent on its own wasn't alluring enough to vampires because we didn't smell like very sweet humans. Generally, in the eyes of the human drinkers, we smelled barely above average. Animal drinkers could smell our special qualities with more intensity because they were just so sensitive to any scent after enough time. But human drinkers never abstained long enough to heighten their olfactory sense.

When possible, average didn't cut it for the cuisine selection at the Volturi household. So a possessive selector was to our advantage.

With a feeling of mixed dread and excitement, we were led to the Volturi castle.

*******

While walking through the doors of the Volturi castle, my eyes darted everywhere, absorbing as much information as possible. So far, the castle looked exactly like a castle was meant to, and the tourists surrounding us were lapping up the scene. The song-like voice of the vampire at the lead made up the background, white noise of the walk. I blocked everyone out, except for my brother and Sophia.

I quickly went through "Part B" of the plan in my head. Basically it was about finding Annalie.

Annalie's comments on the phone were obscure, but one shone through: _Beware of the ice room, the air is paralyzing, a jail nearly impossible to escape from! Keep your inner fire alive!_

Two words were given from Carlisle to Edward, but they explained everything: blood bank.

The Volturi were smart. They knew that even hunting carefully would bring too much attention to the Italy if someone noticed too many suspicious, related-looking disappearances happened. Aro created the first of many blood banks in the old dungeons of the towers.

Back a few hundred years, the rooms were filled with convicts, the homeless, the runaways; generally people no one would miss for long periods of time. These living bags of blood were not coveted as the only ones that lasted more than a few days smelled absolutely ordinary; something that "royalty" considered below their standard. So they drank from them only when necessary.

But as technology got better with time, Carlisle told me that when visiting the castle fifty or so years ago for a brief time, he noticed that the rooms that once held the screaming humans for feasts on a rainy day, were now equipped as walk-in freezers, stockpiled with blood just in case of an emergency. Perhaps a shortage of disposable humans. I knew that famines were generally hard for vampires; victims were decimated with hunger, and the blood became thin, and often unsatisfying, forcing nomads to seek better climates.

In the Chernobyl explosion, Carlisle told me that many humans in and around Europe were infected from the nuclear fallout and somehow their blood did funny things to the vampires that feasted from them, forcing most to leave to other countries.

However, the Volturi were no nomads. They were stuck here, in their headquarters. In the olden days, castles were generally filled with food and weapons in the case of a siege, an attack on the castle. I guess Aro had the same idea ... substituting food for blood.

Yet it was in one of these freezers we believed Annalie was held. Fire was intolerable in the castle, and they must have realized that the best way to keep a fire away was to freeze the source. Placing a candle in a freezer to snuff out the flame.

The mental image of a decimated Annalie appeared before my eyes, her eyes blank and hollow, once rosy cheeks now pallid and sunk in, shivering uncontrollably in a corner of a tiny blaring white room, the tendrils of misty white fog, icy cold to the touch, swirling around her, swallowing up her small frame. Just the thought alone made me want to vomit what little food I was able to consume earlier.

Corrin wasn't sure how cold was cold enough to disable me and Annalie; our hearts were like fire, burning as if powered by everlasting coals, and illuminated like the bright sun in the sky. To ice us over would be like attempting to cool the blazing fire of a blacksmith's furnace.

What was disconcerting was the notion that if anyone could do this, it was the Volturi.

Those bastards had perfected the very art of torture. Years upon years of free time, a huge supply of power, and sadistic tenacities would do that to you. Not to mention that since their "collection" of the famous twins, no doubt that the pain they could inflict had doubled, maybe even tripled.

The slightly hastened, panicked beats of my heart fortunately drew no special attention from our tour guide, but Corrin and Sophia both spared a worried glance in my direction. Shaking my head slightly at them, I tried to tell them not to worry about me. I could hear their speeding hearts as well as my own, so I knew I was not the only one with nerves strung as tightly as piano wire.

We were prepared to make a distraction so we could slip without notice, but fortunately that wasn't necessary. One of the girls in the group started screaming, hollering something vague about seeing a rat. In the chaos that pursued—people running to higher ground, running in the opposite direction of the rodent, or people just running for the heck of it—we were able to slip away, unnoticed, as the vampire tried to calm the horde of panicked people down.

When we were in a deserted hallway, Corrin and I put on the wireless headphones that I was just given for my birthday. However, they were now new and improved, Corrin fiddling with them until they were high-tech walkie talkies, enabling us to remain in contact in the highly probable case we are split up. The small buds were easy to hide from sight, and were reliable to work.

My brother was wearing the headpiece instead of Sophia for a few reasons. Corrin swore that he would never leave Sophia, so they were paired up, and I was left with my own headphone. Sophia, hating technology, refused to wear it, and insisted Corrin wear it instead. They wasted a few minutes squabbling, but realized quickly that time was of the essence.

The corridors and halls seemed the same to the untrained eye, but Edward had shown and had gone over the maps Carlisle had given us with such repetition that I felt sure enough to walk the castle blindfolded. Not that I would. I needed all my senses to find my sister.

*******

**A/N: Yeah... and that's where I've been stuck on for the last few months. Urgh, hate my life. So read, review, you know the drill. :-)**

**Shameless plug: if you like Naruto, Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments, Hunger Games, or Doctor Who, I've written stories/one-shots for them, just go look at my profile. ^-^**


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